Freakshow
by FreeThinker111
Summary: AU. After an attack leaving her mute and her family dead, Annabeth moves to Astoria, Oregon, to live with her aunt. But this small town by the Columbia River is not what it seems. In her new home, Annabeth learns secrets and makes new friends, one of which has the same sea green eyes that haunt her nightmares.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note.**

 **Well, this is my first time doing this, so I apologize for any mistakes, rated T to be safe. Enjoy**

 **I do not own any of Percy Jackson and the Olympians characters , those belong to Rick Riordan.**

 _ **Chapter 1**_

It was a rainy morning outside Annabeth's house, the noise that the raindrops made when hitting the window of the thirteen year old's room was enough to make her upset. Annabeth never liked the rain much, she preferred to go out on a sunny day with her parents and her two three year old twin brothers to play in the Central Park, or visit the museum, or watch a Yankees' game or anything else rather than stay on bed watching the window, doing nothing, her alarm clock showed that it was still 9:22 AM.

Despite of all this, it was a peaceful morning, her mom got a break at the university and her dad was doing his work as the city's district Attorney at home to spend more time with their family. Everything seemed pretty ok, when suddenly someone broke in, shooting the doorknob, the girl was scared of the loud 'bangs'. That was the noise of a gun, killing Annabeth's parents, attracted by it, the girl runs downstairs and sees the image that would traumatize her forever, her mother had two holes in her chest, Bobby and Matthew were both lying in a puddle of blood, her father still seemed to be alive though, bleeding from his left leg. Annabeth couldn't move she only managed to scream at the scene

"Looks like I ain't done here". said the killer with a menacing grin, hearing this, Annabeth's father menaged to push the man, and turned to see his beloved daughter for the last time and scream.

"Annabeth, get out of here, NOW!". And with that the girl turned and ran towards the kitchen to try escape trough the window from that horrible psycho, she heard a thump from behind her signaling the end of her dad's, Frederick Chase, struggle.

She stood in front of the window, warm tears streaming down her face, she tried to open it with all the strength she had, she saw the reflection of the murderer pointing his gun at her direction behind her, his face was bloody, his green seaweed eyes were vague maybe because the reflection wasn't perfect. Even though she didn't know his name, Annabeth would never forget his face, those terrifying green eyes, raven colored hair and slender figure. It was useless, the window was locked, so she turned her head to face her death, to face her murderer, he then pulled the trigger and the bullet passed trough Annabeth scratching her neck. First there was an unbelievable burning pain, then blood started to come out, the girl put her hand in the wound, she could not even manage to cry because of the amazing amount of pain in her neck, but then there was nothing, no pain, no sound, nothing, she drifted away, her vision becoming blurry and then black.

 _Am I dead? This is it?._ She thought. _What a way to go I guess_. It was all black for some time, but then she saw light, a white light, ethereal, shapeless and frail, the light started to get stronger to the point that it was blinding her, it then was taking form, it shaped into a room with white walls, a window, a chair, a vase with flowers, it then took the shape of her aunt Athena. Annabeth realized that she was in a hospital alive, she still felt the pain in her throat, her aunt half asleep took notice that her niece was waking up.

"Annabeth, my dear, you woke up". The girl could see that some tears streamed down her aunt's face. "I'm sorry dear, but your parents and your brothers... they didn't make it". The girl was speechless. Is this a joke?. She thought, there were tears starting to form on the corner of her eyes. Athena paused, pondering on how to deliver the other news.

"Well, furthermore, as you may know you were lucky the bullet didn't fully hit you. But...". the dark-haired woman sighed. "The wound can't fully heal, which makes you unable to use your voice." Annabeth froze at those words, it was almost like she couldn't understand them. She wanted to say that it was impossible but when she opened her mouth no sound came out, only pain.

"Now, now darling. There's no point, try not to force your throat too much". Without being able too speak, or scream, Annabeth resorted to the only thing she could do, cry and sob. Athena felt so bad for bringing such bad news to her niece, it was hard to believe in all of this herself, but it was the harsh truth that the world had presented to them, in a attempt to cheer the girl up Athena hugged her.

"Shhh, it's going to be okay dear, don't worry, after the doctors say that you can leave I'll take care of you, you'll come to live with me in Oregon". The girl was still sobbing uncontrollably, some time passed and Annabeth was starting to stop shaking. "Remember? Astoria? You used to love there, right?". And with that Annabeth's sobbing was getting weaker.

"I've already packed your things, they're all in my hotel room, but I've brought something that might make you a little better". Athena opened her purse and took a cap from it, it was Annabeth's Yankees cap, that thing was old and washed-out but it held so many memories, Athena put it on the girl's head and smiled. "Go Yankees, better?". Annabeth forgot about crying for a moment, she looked down and then to her aunt and mouthed a thank you.

"Don't sweat it". Athena then got up from the chair she was sitting, gathered her things and turned to Annabeth.

"I'm going back to my hotel to finish some work, I'm sorry I can't stay longer". _Figures._ Said the girl mentally, her aunt has always been a busy person, she works for a big company called Olympus Corp. Annabeth never understood what her aunt does there, but by the amount of money she makes it was clear that she was quite a deal. "I'm coming back tomorrow, do you want me to bring anything for you?". _Yeah, my family back._ Thought Annabeth depressed, but as much as amazing aunt Athena was, she couldn't bring back the dead, so she just shook her head.

"Okay then, I'm going". Athena opened the door that leads into the hospital's corridor and looked back to the girl.

"And Annabeth, they caught that monster, he'll pay for what he's done". Annabeth wasn't angry at the man, she was mostly scared of him, like a bunny was scared of an eagle, he haunted her thoughts, after Athena left, the girl thought about what happened she tried not to cry again but she couldn't help herself, she eventually went back to sleep and wait to get better so she could leave that small room.

 _ **Four days later**_

The doctor was clarifying Annabeth's condition to them, well at least to Athena, the girl was more focused on thinking about the nightmares that haunted her for the past four nights, the image of the killer with her family laying on the ground, dead, and she was just frozen there, being only able to watch that cold-blooded monster, surprisingly enough he was weeping, it seemed that he was relieved but at the same time in pain, what could this mean? What was this dream trying to tell her? That he was innocent?. _No, that can't be it._ She thought

"Annabeth, Annabeth". Athena was talking to her.

"The doctor is going to remove the gauze now, you ready?". Annabeth nodded a yes, and so the doctor removed the cloth leaving the girl to look herself at the mirror. Annabeth looked where the scar was, it wasn't hideous but it wasn't pretty either. It looked like a red streak that started at the left side of her throat all the way below her lower jaw there was also a small difference in the volume of flesh compared to the right side of her neck like a piece of it was torn out, and it was. Annabeth grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from the doctor's desk.

" _Can I borrow a scarf?_ " she showed the paper.

"Oh, sure". Athena answered, picking one out of her purse, she handed her black and yellow striped scarf to Annabeth, the girl wasn't comfortable showing her scar to the world, showing her sad past, the scar was merely a symbol of shame that she wanted to hide from the universe.

"We ready to go?" Athena spoke, Annabeth nodded a yes.

"Well I gave you all the instructions regarding her injury, if she starts to present too much pain, here's a list of painkillers she can use, and as soon as you're able don't forget to check a specialist". Said the doctor handing a sheet of paper to Athena.

"Thanks". She said as she was took the paper and put it in her purse.

"You're welcome, good luck you two".

 _ **Two hours later**_

Annabeth was at the airport wearing her cap, some old jeans, a keep calm T-shirt, a Gap jacket and her new scarf, it was summer and fairly warm, so some people were giving her weird looks because of the way she dressed, she didn't mind though, it was better than showing that scar to them.

"Hey dear, it's time, we gotta get on the plane". Called Athena, the girl nodded a yes. She took one last glance at New York city, she said goodbye to her old home, her family and her old life. Annabeth followed Athena into the plane, to a new place, a new start.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's notes**

 **So I wrote more than I expected and then the chapter ended kinda awkwardly, this is my first fic, constructive criticism is always welcome. enjoy.**

 **I do not own the characters of Percy Jackson and the Olympians those belong to Rick Riordan**

 _ **Chapter 2**_

The flight was long and boring, not to mention the baby that was crying all the time two seats behind them, Athena menaged just fine, after all she was used to flying all the time to show up at important meetings and stuff, but Annabeth didn't go quite well. First she tried sleeping, but the baby was so loud she couldn't close her eyes, its cries reminded her of Bobby and Matthew when they were that age, oh how she missed those older, simpler days already. She then tried to listen to music but after going through her playlist of 12 songs four times she got bored, her aunt was asleep so she couldn't start any form of conversation, she brought no books on her backpack, so she couldn't read anything either. After 20 minutes of looking out the window, she grabbed her cap that she was wearing and held in front of her, remembering the day she got that.

 ** _Flashback_**

Excitement means different things to many people. In 2008, to Annabeth it meant the finals of the national baseball league the NY Yankees vs the Boston Red Sox. Annabeth, her dad and her mom were going to watch it live on the stadium, it would be her first time watching a game at the Yankee Stadium, her dad would always talk about how he met her mom during a game. Something about him looking at her mother the whole time instead of the match and then falling in love, it still seemed a pretty weird story for Annabeth. The day they were going to the stadium her mother forgot the purse where the tickets were and they had to go back home and get it.

"Goddammit Helen, why did you have to forget this purse today?!". Yelled Frederick.

"Fred language! Our daughter is here if you don't remember, and it's not like I'm the only one who messes up". Defended Helena Chase, Annabeth' s mother.

"It's not like dad doesn't have a point". Added a little blond girl who was sitting on the backseat.

"Are you two teaming up on me? That's it! no caramel corn for you".

"Ahh mama". Whined the seven year old.

They got to their house and got the tickets, Frederick then drove so fast that it looked like he was James Bond on a car chase, but it was useless because the traffic near the stadium was terrible, like all the drivers decided to take a little walk and park their cars on the street.

"I'm going to take a look and see how bad it is". Said Helen as she opened the door and walked over to the sidewalk.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!". She screamed, it seemed like there was no end to the amount of cars in front of them.

"Run to the stadium, take Annabeth with you, I'm gonna find a place to park the car, meet you there as soon as I can". He said.

"Ok, be safe". She said as she kissed him.

"Always".

Helen then took Annabeth's hand and started to run towards the stadium. "Come on sweetie, we got to hurry."

They ran five blocks holding their hands, until Annabeth stopped breathing heavily. "Mommy, I'm tired my legs hurt."

"Already?". She looked, surprised at the little girl's lack of stamina. "Ahh fine, climb on my back". She sighed. Annabeth then hugged her mother's neck and put her legs between Helen's arms. After 10 minutes of piggybacking to the stadium with the girl screaming ' _wheeeee'_ all the way, they could see their destination.

When they got there it was worse than the traffic, it seemed that all the drivers that decided to take a walk were there, Helen fought her way into the entrance of the place and dropped Annabeth to rest a little.

"At least you're tiny". She managed to say while she was panting heavily, when she looked back up she saw Annabeth wandering into a crowd that was screaming. " _Billy! Billy! Billy!_ ".

Even though she was tiny, it was incredibly difficult to pass through the crowd, she tripped on someone and fell in the middle of the circle of people, when she looked up she saw a big black man wearing the Yankees uniform, it was Billy Roger the pitcher of the NY Yankees, he kneeled down to the girl.

"It's very sunny today, a little girl like you shouldn't take that much sun, or else you might get a burn or something, here keep this". He said as he put his cap on her head. "Go Yankees". Annabeth's eyes just widened.

"Hey Billy, hurry up we got some asses to kick!". Hollered another member of the team.

Billy stood up and yelled back. "Coming Pete!". And with that he walked away, Annabeth was speechless, that day she saw first hand what glory meant.

"Th-tha was, was, wa-was he?". Helen stammered her eyes just as widened as Annabeth's, like she saw a miracle take place, she then looked over to her daughter

"Let's go watch this game". She lifted little Annabeth. "And don't you dare lose that cap!". Annabeth held onto it like her life depended on it, because her mother would definitely kill her if she didn't.

 _ **End of flashback**_

Annabeth was pulled back to the present when she heard the pilot over the speaker telling the crew to prepare for landing, Athena woke up with a yawn.

"What a smooth flight". She said like she had a day at a SPA, Annabeth slowly turned her head to her aunt, glaring at her.

"What?". Athena said completely oblivious to the suffering her niece went through that flight.

 _ **30 minutes later**_

They were in a cab, Annabeth was admiring the city, it was just like she remembered, some new houses and buildings but it was generally the same town she went on vacation when she was nine, the same tall pine trees, squirrels and racoons, the same almost empty streets save the little children who were playing around, the same cool weather that made her relax. Life there seemed ordinary and much smoother than it was back in New York, the cab stopped in front of a two story house with white walls, Annabeth was observing the exterior of it, soaking in the place she used to stay with her family on their trips to Oregon, a small staircase made of gray bricks led to the wooden front door, around it was an arch of grey stones, to the left of the door, in front of a window, was a bush of wild white lilies and lavender, a sign that her aunt wasn't around her home too much. Annabeth liked to look at buildings, something about their design attracted the girl, she thought of being an architect when she grows up, but the future seemed so distant to her that it wasn't worth to worry about these sort of things.

"Well, make yourself at home". Said Athena awkwardly when she opened the door into a living room, she put her coat on the rack that was nailed to the wall, Annabeth looked around, the living room had three leather sofas arranged in a " **U** ", all facing a square coffe table.

"Let me show where you'll stay". Annabeth followed the 29 year old woman up the wooden spiral stairs, they passed the bathroom and Athena's room until they stood in front of a plain white door.

"Here's your bedroom". Athena opened the door, Annabeth entered and observed the room, it was a little bit smaller than her old room, and definitely empty, there was just a wooden bed with some yellowish orange sheets with a folded thick brown blanket on top of it, a wooden wardrobe and a very old looking drawer.

"I'm sorry it's a little empty, I didn't have time to furnish it. But you can use the TV and the computer in my room anytime you want". Annabeth shrugged and continued looking around.

"I'm going to order a pizza, are you hungry? Do you want anything?". Annabeth got to her notepad and started writing.

" _Do they have pepperoni NY style?_ ". She held the pad in front of her aunt.

"Classic, I'm sure they do, I'll be downstairs if you need anything". Athena closed the door behind her leaving Annabeth alone. The girl started unpacking her things, she started hanging her clothes in the empty wardrobe, putting her books in the drawer, she thought she could use more sunlight, so she opened the white curtains and was met with a great view of the whole neighborhood below, the Columbia river and the Megler Bridge. Funny, she didn't remember seeing such a pretty view of the city as a kid, maybe because she wasn't tall enough at the time.

After she hanged all her clothes and put all her books in the drawer all that was left in her suitcase was a small wooden box, she opened it and it was full of photos, a kindergarten drawing of her house made by her, a necklace and a portrait of her family, they were all smiling, their eyes where shining, full of hope. All the fights they had seemed foolish given the tragedy that happened. She missed them so much, she was taught by her mother that things, even the mightiest skyscraper, the fiercest nation, the people we most loved would eventually go away, but that's what rebuilding and making new friends were for. Annabeth wanted to follow her mother's words and move on but she just couldn't do it, she felt alone and worse yet incapable, there was nothing Annabeth feared more than being incapable, and when she least expected a tear formed in the corner of her eye and fell on the portrait, and then another and another, she wiped her tears and mentally said to stop or else she would look like one those dorks she called brothers, and then her throat started burning, it felt like that bullet came back to haunt her, to mock at her weakness.

 _Dammit_. She thought. _I need a painkiller_. She opened her backpack and found a little jar with some pills, she took two pills and went to the bathroom across the corridor, she didn't want to aunt Athena see her crying, Annabeth didn't want to be a burden to her aunt, the girl was sure that Athena deserved some rest, she put the two pills in her mouth, opened the sink, took some water with her hands and swallowed it, the painkillers started to take effect, the burning sensation was ceasing.

Annabeth took off her scarf and touched the scar while looking at it on the mirror. _Freak_. She said mentally in response to her own reflection, she let out a sigh and went back to her room, she closed the jar containing the painkillers and placed it on the drawer along with the portrait of her family, she looked at the small box on the ground with the photos and some other stuff scattered on the ground, she stored everything in the box, except the necklace, she pushed the box under her bed, in that box was everything that Annabeth managed to get back from her home that now was considered a crime scene, those things were all that was left of Annabeth's old life, she would protect them with her life.

She then grabbed the necklace and started fiddling with it. The necklace looked simple, the pendant was an omega made of silver. It belonged to her mother, she was a history teacher at an university, and guess what was her favorite subject... Yup, it was ancient Greek and Roman mythology.

"Annabeth! The pizza arrived!". The girl put the necklace and went downstairs, hoping her aunt wouldn't know that she cried, that she felt empty and sad inside.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes**

 **Happy new year everyone, sorry I was late updating, at least I wrote a little bit more. Post a comment of what you think about the story so far. And here's a question for you: What is your new year's resolve?**

 **Enjoy the chapter**

 **I do not own any of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians Characters. they belong to Rick Riordan.**

 _ **Chapter 3**_

Annabeth approached the living room where her aunt was, the pizza was laying on the coffe table, Athena was bringing some glasses with soda. Annabeth's eyes were a little puffy from the crying, her aunt noticed that and with a worried expression she looked at her niece.

"Sweetie, are you ok? It looks like you were crying". She stated, Annabeth wrote on her notepad.

" _I just hit my shin on the bed really hard, it's ok_ ". _Seriously?_. Athena said mentally. _You think I'm that stupid Annabeth?_. She knew that the girl was clearly lying, she understood that Annabeth didn't want to show her weakness, how did she know that? Well Annabeth's mother was her older sister, she remembered that Helena Chase could never show weakness even if the circumstances were disastrous, her big sister would remain strong no matter what the universe threw at her. Athena sometimes admired it, sometimes she found it incredibly stupid, but now it was her time to be strong too. Helena was dead and all that remained of her was the little mute girl in front of her, like it or not. Since Annabeth was exactly like her sister, she knew that if she wanted to help, it had to be subtle, being melodramatic with her niece would only hurt her pride, however if she acted too oblivious she would look like she didn't care about the girl, it was tricky, but she didn't become the head of logistics at Olympus Corp just by being good at math. No, human behavior was her true specialty, she read a person's expression like it was Shakespeare, she could change other people's opinions as easily as she could change her clothes, and that's how she always got to be mommy's favorite. Athena decided to buy Annabeth's story.

"If you ever get hurt, know that you can count on me, ok?". She said with a warm smile, Annabeth nodded a yes in a way that it told her aunt that she got the message.

Annabeth grabbed a slice of the pizza and took a bite, it tasted delicious, the taste formed in the back of her mind an image of NY, her family going out every Saturday at Rico's Pizza. _Stop it Annabeth!_. The girl scolded herself. _Let the past stay in the past_.

"So Annabeth?". She looked up, to her aunt. "I'm going to fly to Arizona tomorrow and you'll stay here, I asked my assistant Mellie to come over and check up on you every noon and early evening". Annabeth took another bite and then grabbed her notepad.

"A _babysitter? But I'm 13_ ".

"Not a babysitter, more like someone to make sure that you're okay, think of it as a friend coming to say hi everyday".

" _Fine_ ".

"Say, what about after we finish our lunch, you and I drive around the city, and you know, show where everything is". Annabeth just shrugged.

"Good". Athena smiled.

 _ **Some hours later**_

Annabeth tried to figure out why her aunt had a car if she was always somewhere far, but then she remembered, _it's because she can_. She was shown some parks and museums, some places she could go shopping or buy groceries, and now she was in front of her new school, Goode Junior and Senior High. The buildings were large, Annabeth loved the design, it was a mixture of Georgian and Greek architecture, there was a statue of a centaur in front of what she presumed was the main building, the centaur was aiming with his bow, like it was ready to give a very unpleasant acupuncture if any bird decided to fly by. The area around the building was a great park with a basketball court, some benches, trash bins, a lot of trees, the usual. The place was empty except for a couple janitors, it was to be expected, it was summer, only a few days until classes started again, but still summer, there was no reason for kids to be there.

"So what you think of it?" Athena asked. There was no answer, Annabeth was distracted admiring the fascinating design.

"Your mom and I used to study there, do you knew that? Flirting with boys, getting in trouble, ahh the good times". Athena and Annabeth, laughed a little.

"Wanna check inside?". The girl nodded in response.

They opened the front door, the main hall was beautiful, the ceiling was a glass dome, the sun lighted most of it, 60 feet from the door was a stairway that branched into a 90° angle leading to the second floor, on both sides of the stairway, on the first floor, there was an entrance to the cafeteria, at the center of the hall was the same centaur painted on the floor, to their left and their right were two corridors on each side, full of lockers and some classrooms.

Annabeth wandered into one of these corridors, when she overheard two middle-aged males arguing about something.

" -do you want us to do? It's not like they're doing anything illegal and you know that we can barely afford this structure already". Said one of them.

"I know, but still, what could they want at the libra-".

"Someone's coming". He interrupted, Annabeth walked to their sight.

"The classes don't start until next week, what are you doing here girl?". Asked the guy who cutted the other man off, he had grey hair, brown eyes and was fat. The girl already didn't like him very much, his arrogant attitude towards her was a sign that guy would make her life more difficult than it already was on this place.

"She's new here, I was just showing her around the school". Came Athena to the rescue.

"Oh, nice to meet you two, I'm the principal Chiron Brunner, and this here is our fine vice-principal Leneus Rosewood, this school wouldn't be able to operate without him". The other man said with a cheerful and warm smile as he reached out his hand to both females for a handshake, he had brown hair and beard, his brown eyes was the thing that left Annabeth most curious, she liked them, unlike the other guy, they seemed to irradiate compassion for others, his smile felt genuine and comforting. The girl, for some reason she couldn't understand very well, trusted him, in her head that sensation was foolish but she didn't mind, she wanted to forget that feeling of loneliness and distrust of others.

"Very funny Chiron, but it's true". Retorted the fat man.

"Hi, I'm Athena Chase, I was a student here, and this is my niece, Annabeth Chase". She shook Chiron's hand. "Mr. Brunner, since you're the principal there are some things I wish to discuss at your office if possible".

"Ahh, it's always a pleasure to meet a former student. Of course we can, and please there's no need for such formalities just call me Chiron ". He said gently and turned to the grey-haired man. "Leneus, why don't you take our new friend here and show her the rest of the place while Athena and I attend to the matter at hand, huh?".

"You know I cannot stop to show her around I have paperwork to do regarding the-". Leneus didn't finish his sentence because Chiron interrupted.

"And I am sure you'll find the time to finish that later but now we need to show her the school grounds, remember Leneus, the students must always come first". Annabeth tried to hide a smirk that formed on the corner of her lips. _Take that._

"Sure, you're right, I'll be back shortly, let's go girl, there is plenty you need to see". He said in a defeated tone.

"I'll be waiting for you at the front door, see you later". Spoke Athena, she waved a goodbye to her niece as she and Chiron went back to the main hall, Leneus sighes and signaled to Annabeth to follow him.

"I apologize for my earlier behavior, but someone has to keep things in order, even if it means you're not liked for it, don't you agree?". The girl still didn't like him and she thought that what he said wasn't a good excuse for being so arrogant and rude, but she didn't want to start an argument so she just nodded her head.

"It's good to know someone besides me in this school has at least some brains". Annabeth rolled her eyes mentally. "Well, these corridors are where you'll mostly spend your ordinary days at school, the second floor holds only the biology lab, the staff's lounge, the principal's office and the senior's classrooms and lockers".

"Let's go out and check the other buildings". He said in monotone voice.

They were outside in front of the statue and then turned right, they walked a path made of red bricks until a football field and a gym were in sight, the gym had the same Georgian architecture of the main building but it was smaller and had a more rectangular shape, the area was surrounded by the typical Oregonian pinewoods, there were also some birch trees.

"Let's take a look inside".

They entered, the inside looked like a regular gym, there were several sports equipment bunched together on a corner, a corridor led to a pool, there was no water in it.

"The responsible for the gym and your physical education classes is Coach Gleeson Hedge, an annoying little man that never shuts up about Chuck Norris and things like that". Annabeth just nodded slowly. _Does he always talk crap about his colleagues behind their backs like that?._ They exited the gym and started walking another red-bricked path.

"The school used to be more active during this period with senior members conducting experiments and other things, Olympus corp invested in our school so the students with high grades would come over to work there, it was sort of a collaboration between the two institutions". Leneus sighed and continued. "But then with Titan co coming to town and almost taking Olympus out of the market 4 years ago, the company had to stop their programs so they wouldn't go bankrupt". The girl remembered that time, when her aunt came to NY and talked to her parents about the company almost going bankrupt, it was on that year that she got a big promotion and then managed to get the company out of that situation.

"It was hell to keep the school public like Chiron wished, he would rather throw himself off a cliff than making it private, the funding the government provided wasn't enough, many teachers left that year, my paperwork tripled and things like school trips and festivals had to be cancelled, but luckily the school managed to survive and so, here we are". He stated.

After some seconds of silence Leneus spoke again. "So, there is something I've been curious about, it's still summer, it isn't that cold, why then, are you wearing a scarf?". Annabeth instinctively grabbed her scarf like it was going to be yanked from her and then everyone would see the scar and start laughing, or staring, or calling her a freak, she knew she was one already, she didn't need a confirmation, she didn't feel angry at the guy, he didn't know her state, she sighed mentally, her thoughts were interrupted by the old man.

"Hey girl, I'm talking to you". She grabbed a pen and paper that she kept for these situations wich would surely happen more often.

" _I'm mute the scarf is to hide a scar I have on the neck_ ". She showed the paper to him, he read it, some seconds of awkward silence between them went by, until the man that was now sweating a little spoke.

"Oh, I am, err, I didn't, um, I thought you weren't, well this is the library". He said as he tried to recompose himself, the library was very similar to the main building only a bit smaller, a more Greek-ish design, and a big glass dome with a small centaur on top of it, Annabeth loved it, she felt hypnotized by it and started walking towards the building, but then Leneus grabbed her left shoulder and talked hurriedly.

"The library is off limits". He then proceeded in a more confused tone. "It's not, ah, safe, you see it's ,um, in aahh, maintenance! It's under maintenance right now, we shouldn't disturb the engineers that must be working so hard at this moment, but I'm sure they'll be gone once the classes start again". _That was weird_. She thought, more curiously so, there was no signs of construction material outside and it seemed awfully quiet inside, specially if it was supposed to be under maintenance.

"We kept Chiron and your aunt waiting long enough, let's head back to the main building". _Is he lying?_. She thought, something about this was definetely fishy for Annabeth, but then again, the sun was setting and she wanted to go back to her aunt and go home, so she just decided to forget about it.

Once they arrived at the main building's front door Annabeth sighted her aunt and Chiron still talking, she approached them.

"-do it again will be hard, oh hey Annabeth, how did it go?". Athena noticed her niece approaching, the girl grabbed the piece of paper in her pocket and started scribbling down some letters but then the grey-eyed brunnete spoke. "Don't worry, you can tell me about it back home, let's go".

Athena turned to Chiron. "Thank you for you time Mr. Brunner".

"As I said earlier, it's always a pleasure to speak to one of Goode's former students, I hope you will think about our proposal".

"I'll definetly analyze it on my trip".

"Thank you".

 _ **40 minutes later**_

After they left the school, Annabeth and Athena thought about eating waffles for breakfast, they stopped by at a local store to buy the ingredients, vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, some marshmallows and of course ready made waffles. They were now home 'talking' about her new school, Annabeth stated that she liked the place, especially the main hall.

"That's good to know, my favorite spot was a bench near the library, there was this family of squirrels that I liked feeding, ah here's a funny story for you, so there was this teacher when I was fourteen that was a super vegan, she hated meat so much that she couldn't eat with the other teachers at the staff's lounge, so every lunch she would come down to the same bench I mentioned and would eat some kind of vegan sandwich, one day some friends and I decided to swap her vegan sandwich for one that had meat on it, when she took a bite off it, her reaction was priceless, I think she never saw a sandwich the same way again". Annabeth was rolling on the ground, laughing at the image her aunt created in her mind. _I managed to crack her up, that's good_. Athena smiled at her thought, she then assumed a serious tone and asked.

"And how do you think it will be with the other students?". Annabeth stopped a little to think about her answer, when she came to a conclusion she wrote on her notepad.

" _I survived a bullet on my throat, I'm sure I can handle other 8th graders like me_ ". Athena let out a sigh, if it was relief in knowing that the girl felt ready to face the challenge ahead, or sadness that she couldn't do anything to change her niece's situation or if she was just plain tired she didn't know.

"You are just like your mom and dad, you knew that?". Annabeth looked with a curious expression, like she was asking ' _do you think so?_ '. "Yeah, it sucks". The girl then changed to an insulted expression. Athena remembered hating Fred and Helen's behaviour, they would always act tough when it was totally fine to break down and how they got so worked up about, what she felt, were small things, like if something was offensive or giving a well thought out gift, but, of course, when she wanted to do something, you bet that she would get it perfectly, the thing is that Athena didn't want anything else, she already had everything, she was always the lazy genius, maybe that's why she never fell in love with someone, or have set high goals to her life, or bothered to lose her virginity, her family was all that she needed, when her parents passed away and her sister moved to New York she felt lonely as hell, but it meant that she could focus more on her work, but even after eleven years of working at Olympus Corp, she didn't feel like it had real meaning, she only did it because she was good at it. She still kept in touch with her sister, it was like her last piece of familiar ground, when Helen, Fred and the other kids got murdered, Athena felt her heart sank into an ocean of nothing, like it was made of the heaviest stone in the universe, but when she heard that Annabeth survived, that feeling stopped, something inside her woke up, and she had to admit, she liked having the kid around, for the first time she felt like what she was doing had meaning. Athena looked at her watch and it was ' _22:00_ '.

"It's possible that I might not have time to go over about your schedule, so here's Mellie's number, you can call-". Athena stopped realising her stupid mistake, Annabeth just shrugged telling that it was okay. "Err, I mean text her if you need anything."

"Alright time to go to bed".

" _Seriously?_ ".

"You know I can still send you to an orphanage, right?". Annabeth froze and started writing nervously.

" _I'm going to brush my teeth, good night_ ". She then hurried upstairs.

 _ **Later that night**_

Annabeth was rolling over her bed because of her nightmare, this time she was standing in front of the killer, he smelled like the ocean, his face was stained with blood, she then blinked, and instead of facing the killer she was facing a boy, probably her age, his face was stained with tears instead of blood, was it tears? nor Annabeth or even the poor writer of this story could exactly describe what was that liquid that mimed both water and such mistery, but what was most curious was that he looked just like the killer, same raven colored hair, his skin was more tan-ish, and his green eyes weren't blank like before but full of life, he pointed asking with his expression to look behind her, first she thought if she could trust that boy, but the feeling of curiosity overtook her abillity to think straight, each moment that passed was agonizing, she turned to see what the boy was pointing at and then she saw the centaur statue from earlier, suddenly, her surroundings started to change, instead of being in a concrete dark room, she was now at the school grounds, she looked to her right and saw her aunt talking to her. _Wait!_. she thought. _Haven't I been here before? Is that déjà vu?_. Then, everything started moving backwards, like someone hit the rewind on her life, everything was moving so fast, one moment she was eating the pizza from before, another she was at the hospital room and then everything stopped with Annabeth staring at a window, it was her old house's kitchen window, she remembered what was supposed to be happening right now, she turned back, and there he was, pointing his gun at her, Annabeth could barely process the moment. _What in the world is happening?_. The embodiment of her nightmare, everything that she feared, pulled the trigger.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's notes**

 **I was reading some of the previous chapters and it seems that I miscalculated some years, this story is supposed to be set on 2014, which means the NY Yankees vs. the Boston Red Sox finals had to happen in 2008. Mathematics, I still don't know its ways, I've already fix it, this is just to keep that in mind. Reviews are always welcome. Enjoy the chapter, I'll try to update as quickly as I can.**

 **I do not own any of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians' characters, those belong to Rick Riordan**

 _ **Chapter 4**_

Annabeth woke up with a jolt, she was breathing heavily, sweating a lot and her heart felt like it could jump out of her chest anytime. She then touched her throat, that agonizing pain was back, she grabbed the little jar on her drawer, there was a note under it.

' _Sorry, I had to leave a little earlier to catch the plane, didn't want to wake you up, I left you $4000 on my bedroom, I think it should suffice for 2 weeks, Mellie will come over and pick your laundry at noon, don't forget to brush your teeth and don't go to bed late. Hope you enjoy school. Be back soon, XOXO Athena_ '.

 _Four thousand dollars?!. Is she going to leave me for two weeks or two months?!_. Annabeth's thoughts were interrupted by the pain that burned her throat. She walked downstairs to the kitchen for a glass of water, to swallow her pills. She reached a water bottle in the fridge, and drank the fresh water with the painkillers, she could feel the pain going away already, she then proceeded to heat the waffles in a microwave, she went to the fridge and grabbed the vanilla ice cream, when she opened the recipient she saw that someone already had eaten part of the white sweetness. _You're so sly, aren't you aunt Athena?_.

She went back upstairs to put her painkillers back on its place, she got to her room and put the little jar on the drawer, she decided to open her window's curtains, it was raining. _Of course it is_. But at least the view was still as amazing as it was when it was sunny, she went downstairs to finish making her breakfast, the waffles were heated, she brought a plate and the stuff she bought at the store to the coffe tabble, she was sitting on one of the couches, writing on her notepad some sentences she would have to use often, so that she wouldn't have to write it down later, sentences like: "I'm Annabeth", "thank you", "I can't speak", etc.

She took a bite out of her waffles while thinking. _So this is how my life is going to be now, huh? A lot of free time with nothing to do_. She was bored, she wished this was all a nightmare that she could wake up from and tell how crazy it was to her family, but none of this would happen. The waffles tasted good though.

 _ **3 days later**_

Annabeth woke up to the sound of the alarm on her phone, time to go to school, she felt nervous but she was ready to face it. The last three days, she got to know Mellie, her aunt's assistant, and the building where they worked. She also got to buy some new clothes and school stuff, like notebooks a backpack, pens, notepads (God knows she would need a lot of them) and some pencils. She stopped having nightmares, she didn't dream either, but she preferred this than having to face something that haunted her and couldn't comprehend. She could finally get some deserved rest from that madness and she was grateful for that. Annabeth ate some fruits for breakfast, she went upstairs to change her clothes, she opened her wardrobe and took a Columbia University (where her mom teached) T-shirt, her old blue jeans, a black hoodie and of course, a scarf. She then heard a knock on the front door.

"Hey Annabeth, it's Mellie, you ready?".

On the same day that her aunt left, Annabeth found out the doorbell was broken, everyone would have to either knock on the door or shout her name. The girl grabbed her backpack, put her Yankees cap and ran to the front door, she sighted the short brown-haired woman, waiting next to an old black Corolla.

"Good morning Annabeth, how are you?". Said the woman with a cheerful tone.

Annabeth opened her backpack where she put all the cards with sentences she wrote, in those three days she wrote over 150 of them, Annabeth thought if she put a number on all of them, she would know what each one meant, she was a smart girl like that. However, her plan missed one important detail, actually remembering which number meant which sentence. _So a_ ' _good morning_ ' _or an_ ' _I'm fine_ ' _should work_. She thought. _Which number was_ ' _good morning_ ' _? Was it 18? No,_ ' _what's your name_ ' _is 18, right? I think that_ ' _I'm fine_ ' _is 34 or a 33_. Meanwhile the atmosphere was getting very awkward, Mellie was thinking to tell the girl she didn't have to answer back, but she looked so determined to get a card with a right sentence she decided to do nothing. _C'mon Annabeth, Mellie is looking like you are a whackjob, pull out a card already! Okay, number 33 here it goes!_. She held the card in front of Mellie.

"Do you smell that?". The assistant slowly read the sentence out loud, she then smelled her armpit. "Why? Am I smelling bad? I thought the bath I took today was enough, I'm so sorry, this is so NOT like me I promise". Said the woman with a worried tone, Annabeth wanted to facepalm herself really hard, why did she even write that in the first place? She grabbed her notepad and started scribbling down something, she then showed the woman the paper.

" _You smell fine, I got the wrong card, I'm anxious, besides that, I'm fine_ ".

"Oh thank God, hygiene is something I take VERY seriously". She said relieved as they both entered the car. Annabeth noticed that, she remembered that when she visited her aunt's office at Olympus Corp where Mellie worked, there were air fresheners everywhere, there was even one of those hand sanitizers sitting on her desk, she decided not to comment on the little woman's weird obsession, after all she felt like she was a freak too. Her thoughts drifted into what other people might think of her when she got to school, were they going to laugh at her? Call her names? Would she even be able to make friends? Annabeth decided she was overthinking all of this.

"You know, it's normal to be anxious on the first day, I remember my first day at the company, I couldn't stop sweating, so I decided to use deodorant all over my body, some people called me 'deodorant Mellie', better than be called 'sweaty Mellie', am I right?". _So, here's something I didn't need to know_. Thought the girl, but however weird the story was, it calmed Annabeth a little, because if people on this town were that crazy, she wouldn't look like too much of a freak, her thoughts were interrupted by Mellie again.

"Oh and there was the time I got promoted to be Ms. Athena's assistant, when I first saw her office it was a nightmare, DUST! DUST EVERYWHERE! I think there was even a-". And it was from this point on Annabeth decided to ignore the coffe-haired woman. The girl wanted to listen to some music, she grabbed her phone and started choosing which one of the 12 songs she had, she wanted to hear. _This is a good one_. The girl hit the play and 'Whistle for the Choir' by The Fratellis started playing on Annabeth's ears.

 _ **4 minutes later**_

They were in front of the school, it was just as Annabeth imagined, kids her age everywhere, running, hugging each other and laughing together, ending the longing to see their friends.

"Ok then, here you go, I'm sorry I can't pick you up today". Mellie apologized, Annabeth didn't mind, the school was only 14 blocks from her house, she, personally, would rather come on foot, but Mellie insisted, the woman was afraid that the girl wouldn't know the way and would get lost or something, Annabeth shrugged in response to the assistant's statement.

"Don't forget to always wash your hands before eating, bye bye". And with that Annabeth was left there trying to figure out what she was supposed to do, should she try and go meet someone new?. _Nah, better not_. She walked towards the main building where she would find out which classroom she was assigned to, as she strolled she was admiring the ambience. _Everyone seems to have someone to talk to, looks like I'm the only "new" student here_.

"Hey, you!". Annabeth turned around to see six, very well dressed girls walking towards her, she pointed at herself as if she was asking ' _who? Me?_ '.

"Yeah, you". Said the girl at the middle, she had slanted eyes, straight black hair, was wearing a Chanel white blouse, a black skirt, and rather too much makeup in Annabeth's opinion. It looked like the other five girls were following her, the Asian girl was walking around her, inspecting her, those slanted eyes, piercing Annabeth's soul. Those eyes were more effective than steel, they calculated their prey's movement, the voiceless girl didn't know if they were going to talk to her, if they were just going to walk off, or if they were going to tackle and start devouring her, Annabeth was really hoping it wasn't the latter, surrounded by lions, that may probably be the best comparison this limited writer could come up with, savage beasts but yet majestic like the sun.

"You're new around here, I don't remember your face, not that I would care". Annabeth was very uncomfortable, what could all of that display of hostility mean? Annabeth felt like she was the very meaning of the word outlander at that moment.

"Yeah, I suppose you could walk with us if you changed this... outfit, tell me, what's your name?". Annabeth didn't experience this pressure since one of her nightmares, when she was standing in front of the killer, the man in her dreams at least wept, she wasn't sure if the girl in front of her could even do that.

"Hey are you deaf? She's talking to you". One of the girls said.

"Hey, leave her alone, it's obvious that she doesn't want to speak to you". Said a girl behind Annabeth, she turned her head to see who it was, the voice belonged to a Native American girl, she was wearing a 'keep calm and follow the trail' long sleeve T-shirt, black jeans and trekking boots, her brown hair had two braids and hawk feathers tangled on them, her brown eyes, no wait, blue, no, green?. _What's up with her eyes?_.

"Piper, darling, we're busy, so why don't you go back to your little forest and go perform a rain dance or something?". Said the Asian girl with a smirk, despite the insult the brown-haired girl was still smiling.

"You're on a such bad mood today Drew, what happened? Haven't you eaten your daily riceballs yet?". Drew huffed.

"Whatever, hey, new girl, don't ever forget what I'm going to tell you... Chiron maybe the principal, but it's me, Drew Tanaka, who is the queen of this place, got it?". Annabeth decided to just look at that girl like she was crazy, that might make her go away, and it worked. _Is it even legal for a girl to wear that much makeup?_. She turned to the other girl at her right.

"Hi, my name's Piper McLean, are you really new around here? Where you from? What's your name? I like your cap". Piper cheerfully said.

"Pipes, you just told them to leave the girl alone, and now you are annoying her too?". Asked a boy walking towards them, he had blond hair and sky blue eyes, Annabeth had to admit he was very handsome.

"I'm just curious about her Jason, that's all". She answered.

"Yeah, right". He smiled, then he turned his look to Annabeth.

"Hi, I'm Jason, Jason Grace, what's your name?". Annabeth thought about getting her sentence cards, but she thought she would end up in a similar situation she got earlier, so she just grabbed her notepad and wrote.

" _It's Annabeth Chase, sorry but i can't speak :(_ ".

"Oh". Said Piper with a surprised tone, Jason didn't seem to get it.

"Why? Do you have a toothache or something?". Piper facepalmed, Annabeth tried not to laugh at the native girl's reaction.

"Jason, why don't you go, uhh, look for Leo?". She calmly said.

"But I was just asking if... wait". Jason made a contemplative face, as if he was trying to crack a puzzle. "Oh, now I-". He realized how dumb he was looking. "Sooooo, I'm gonna go look for Leo, see you two later". And with that he was gone, Piper sighed.

"Boys, am I right?". Annabeth let out a soundless giggle, they were walking towards the main building.

"Annabeth that's a pretty name, where are you from?". Asked the braided girl, the blonde wrote.

" _Thanks, I'm from NY City_ ".

"And have you always been like this?". Annabeth shook her head. "Can I ask how it happened?".

" _It's sort of a long story, can I tell it later?_ ".

"Oh, sure". Annabeth didn't want to look shady to someone who looks like genuinely wants to be her friend, but her past wouldn't be something she would like sharing with others, her story wasn't something she could simply write down while walking. Both girls were now on the main hall, there was students, from both senior and junior high, everywhere, looking at lists that told them which classrooms they were assigned to.

"C'mom, I think that the eighth grade's assignments are over here". They walked over to a list with lots of names on it, Annabeth found hers and put her finger on it.

"Hey, it looks we're in the same class, cool huh? Classroom number eight". Said Piper as she found her name as well.

"ARE YOU FREAKING SERIOUS?!". Annabeth and her new friend got startled by the scream that came from an hispanic boy that was next to them, Jason was with him.

"Calm down dude". The blue-eyed boy camly said.

"Calm down?! CALM DOWN?! We're not on the same classroom, el trío dorado is broken, the golden trio is broken, how can I possibly calm down?!". The boy frantically said.

"There is still recess, and we can still meet after class at your mom's shop". Jason tried to keep his cool.

"Where I'll be working all day? Why this always has to happen with me?".

"You're overreacting again".

"Dude, Clarisse is in the same classroom with me". Some seconds of awkward silence passed between them when Jason finally spoke.

"No, yeah you're definitely screwed". That made the latino boy drop on his knees and face the ceiling with his fists raised.

"Why do you have to do this to me? Is it because I'm too handsome or too smart?".

"More like too dramatic". Piper said sarcastically as she walked over to him, Annabeth was trying really hard not to laugh at that situation, it seemed like those three had something special together, she wasn't comfortable getting into their conversation, so she decided to stay out of it when she heard someone coldly say.

"Excuse me". She stepped aside and turned to see the person who said it. When she did, her eyes gazed open, she couldn't believe what she was seeing, the tan-ish skin, the raven colored hair, the green seaweed eyes that were as deep as the ocean itself.

"Classroom eight huh?".

It was the enigmatic boy from her nightmares.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's notes**

 **So that took me a while, hope you like it. Constructive reviews are always welcome.**

 **I do not own the rights to Percy Jackson and the Olympians' characters, those belong to Rick Riordan.**

 _ **Chapter 5**_

Annabeth felt like the floor beneath her feet was melting, it was difficult to stand up. _Is this even possible?_. She couldn't stop staring at him, his slim, but not meager, figure, his tan-ish skin, the messy raven colored hair, and the green eyes, those green eyes she saw when she slept at night. Was all of it an illusion fabricated by the deepest parts of her subconscious? Was it one of the random pranks that Chance loved playing on mortals? Or was it all a masterfully schemed plan, orchestrated by the very hands of Fate? Either way, the girl was paralyzed by this enigma, her rational mind could not start to comprehend anything of the situation, Annabeth's throat was starting to burn again, it felt like there was a hot knife leaning against it, she touched the wound that her scarf hid, without breaking the eye contact with the boy.

"Are you feeling okay?". He asked concerned, his voice sounded tired, like the waves of the sea washing over the sand, that tone was the complete opposite to what Annabeth was feeling, she was completely stiff, adrenaline flowing through her veins, it was like getting set for a race.

Annabeth ran away from him, she planned to go to a restroom and take her medicine, she got there, luckily there was nobody else there too, she put her backpack on the sink and took the jar with her painkillers, she opened it and swallowed three pills dry, she learned how to do that during the time she was at her aunt's office, she used bits of paper of course, or else she would vomit or something, she thought it could come in handy, she also learned that they wouldn't just stop the pain in her throat, they could calm her mind as well, Annabeth was sitting on the floor leaning against a wall. _Calm down Annabeth, he's just a boy, one that looks a lot like the one you dreamed of_. The girl placed her hands on her head. _How can I dream of someone I didn't even know existed?!_. Annabeth sighed and looked at the jar containing the white pills. _Let's be rational for a second, 'kay? You've been taking a lot of this stuff, of course there should be side effects, then there's is the fact that your family got murdered and you're the only survivor, it's only natural that your head is messed up_. Annabeth felt relieved, she finally cracked the mistery, there was nothing of supernatural about that situation, no conspirators, only a series of coincidences and unfortunate events, she took her things and went to her classroom, Piper would probably be waiting for her there.

She walked until she saw a square wooden plaque with an '8' on it above a white wooden door, she was standing now in front of it. _Here we go_. She opened the door and searched for Piper.

"Hey Annabeth! Here!". Hollered the girl poiting to a desk in front of her, Annabeth walked towards it, she dropped her backpack next to the table and sat on the chair, she heard giggling from the other side of the classroom, it was Drew and four other girls, they were looking at Annabeth a ginger whispered something in Drew's ear and they all started giggling again, the mute girl was looking at them back.

"What? You wanna say something?". Drew said and all the other girls started laughing along with her, Annabeth clenched her fists. _They're not worth it_. She turned her look to Piper.

"I didn't tell it to anyone! I swear!". Piper said trying to defend herself, Annabeth wrote on her notepad.

" _It doesn't matter, they would all find out later_ ". The blonde smiled, trying to tell her new friend to not feel guilty over it.

"Well, if you say so". The native girl felt relieved, but she still felt a little bit guilty. _But I've only told two people, how Drew found out about that so quickly?_. Said Piper mentally, at the same time, the boy from Annabeth's nightmares entered the room, and then sat on a random desk, which so happened to be at the right of the desk in front of Annabeth, the girl tried not to look at him, but her attempts of staying cool failed as she couldn't help but give subtle and imperceivable stares at the boy and when she caught a glimpse of those eyes of his, she thought of a hundred adjectives that could perhaps describe what they were, but none of them could fully satisfy her curiosity, she then remembered the definition that a novelist gave to the eyes of a man she also dreamed of, " _arcadian and pervasive gemstones_ ", Annabeth didn't exactly know the meaning of ' _arcadian_ ', but of ' _pervasive_ ' she knew. _I definetly took too many pills_. The moment was broken by the screaming of the hispanic boy from earlier.

"I HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE IN ANY CLASSROOM I WANT!"

"JUST DROP IT ALREADY VALDEZ!". Jason screamed back, he entered the classroom and gave an apologetic smile to both girls, then he sat on Piper's left.

"He's gonna be a pain for some time, but he'll forget about it in a week". The boy gently said to Annabeth, the girl smiled back and wrote on a page of her notebook.

" _I hope I just won't look like Ms. steal your friends to him_ ". Jason and Piper both stared at the girl like she said something totally crazy, they looked at each other, and then started laughing really hard. _Well, that's not the reaction I expected_. She thought, some seconds of them laughing went by.

"Oh Annabeth, you're to good to him". Said Piper trying to calm herself down.

"The day that Leo Valdez gets this jealous of someone, is the day one of those Twilight movies will be enjoyable". Jason added, Annabeth heard a ' _fuck you_ ' from one of the girls in front of her in response to Jason's comment.

"As Jason said, he'll get over it". Annabeth felt a little bit more relieved, the door opened again revealing a middle aged woman with dark hair and a very grumpy look on her face, Annabeth supposed she was the teacher.

"Good morning class, I will be your French teacher, Hera White, after I call the roll please open your books on page twelve". She stated. "Annabeth Chase". The girl couldn't say ' _present_ ' so she just raised her hand.

"Chase? That's a familiar name". Repeated the woman trying to remember where she heard that name before, Annabeth looked over to to the teacher's purse and read ' _Northwest VEG Organization, stop eating meat!_ '. _Wait_. She thought, then she remembered the story her aunt told her before she left, about a certain prank she played on a vegan teacher. _Oh, crap_.

 _ **30 minutes later**_

The class was boring, so Annabeth just turned to look at the boy again and she did that for another good two hours, when she felt someone tapping at her shoulder.

"You're very spaced out, what is it?". Piper whispered, Annabeth wrote on a page of her notepad then gave to her.

" _What you know about the guy with the blue T-shirt over there?_ ". The brown-haired girl whispered in response.

"His name is Perseus Jackson, besides that, I don't really know much about him, I think he's not even from around here, just like you... why? d'you like him?". When she finished that question, Annabeth dropped her pencil and then shook her head furiously, Piper chuckled, if she had paid any more attention to the blonde, she might had noticed Annabeth blushing.

"Tell you what, I'll try and find out more about him, then I tell you at lunch". She smiled and started writing little notes to everyone in class asking about the boy, she, of course, would try not to let him know what she was doing, Annabeth shrugged.

 ** _One hour later_**

Annabeth was sitting on a table with Piper, they were sharing what they had brought, the blonde had some cereal bars, the native girl had some apples and vegan chocolate she managed to sneak out of her home (Annabeth just learned that Piper was also a vegan).

"So, turns out the boy you wanna know about is not from here as I guessed, nobody knows where he's from too, I heard from a guy, that heard from another guy, that heard from a janitor, that heard from a teacher, that-". Annabeth was holding her notepad in front of her friend.

" _Just get to the point_ ".

"I was getting there already, geez, well his dad is gonna be in jail for a long time, they say it's drug traffic or something, for now he's living with Mr. Blofis, our English teacher, maybe he's a distant relative". Annabeth was processing the information, Piper opened one of the cereal bars.

"Shady huh?". She said with her mouth chewing it. _Definetly_. Annabeth thought, she decided she would not get too close to him, he definetly looked like trouble, she turned her gaze to Jason and the hispanic boy that were sitting on the table as well, Jason sat at her side.

"Hi Annabeth, this is our friend Leo-". He was cut off by the latino with brown hair and a smirk that he tried to make it look handsome, but just ended up being goofy.

"Valdez, the most charming and hottest guy around Astoria". Piper sighed, Annabeth felt awkward.

"Leo-". Jason was cut off again.

"Don't worry man, you can be second place". Leo turned his look to Annabeth. "Sooooo, I heard you wanna join us, we are very selective though, you see we can't let all these losers think they can-". Piper punched his arm pretty hard.

"Owww, why d'you do that for?". He asked.

"You needed to shut up". She answered, Annabeth chuckled.

"So, tell us more about yourself, give us some backstory". Jason asked, Annabeth wrote on her notepad.

" _It's gonna take a while to write it all down_ ". She showed then, Leo looked confused.

"Wait, is she-"

"Yeah, she is". Piper answered quickly before he could make the question everyone would have to when they talked to her for the first time, the mute girl didn't really mind, she started writing, how she was a normal girl from NY, that liked to go out every weekend to a park or a museum with her family, before they were murdered, how she has to deal with the occasional pains on her throat, that she lives now with her aunt that's on a business trip most of the time, she didn't want to mention the killer and her weird nightmares, she chose her words very carefully so she wouldn't be so harsh, but how would you tell this story to three kids, reader? There was no way around it, it wasn't a pleasant story, it was horrible in fact, unreal, Annabeth was still traumatized by it, she made it very hard for others to notice the cracks in her soul, but they were still there, unmended, she was still writing those memories, Leo decided to pass the time by chatting.

"So, how's Thalia?". He asked

"Well, you know her, still haven't quit on it". Jason answered, Annabeth looked up, her face told them she was a little lost.

"Thalia's is his sister, she's uum" Piper said trying to find the right words.

"She's a junkie". Jason said coldly, he was always straightforward when it came to his sister, Annabeth finished writing and then showed her notepad containing her story, as they read she saw both Jason and Piper trying to hide their shocked expressions and gave simpathetic looks to her.

"I had no-" Piper was interrupted by Leo, his eyes were all teary, like he just saw a puppy die.

"I'm so sorry I didn't let you in 'cause you didn't seem cool enough, if you ever need a best friend I'll be there for-". He said hurriedly, Piper smacked his head, she was very pissed off.

"You and I need to talk". She said as she dragged the boy by his collar away from the table leaving Jason and Annabeth alone.

"Wait, wait, what did I do?". Leo protested, some seconds went by until Jason broke the silence.

"Leo always try to be funny, even in these kind of moments, he may look inappropriate from time to time, but that's why we keep him". Annabeth nooded her head.

"Don't ever tell him that, or else he'll never shut up". The girl chuckled and raised her hand like she was pleadging a vow, she liked hanging out with them, they made her feel good, normal, she truly felt like she was among friends, she then wrote.

" _And what about you guys?_ ". Jason made a contemplative face, trying to know how he would tell the blonde about his friends.

"Hmm, let's see, Leo's parents are both mechanics and immigrants from Mexico, when they came here they didn't have a job, people were very racist towards them, I heard that one time a bunch of jerks set their house on fire, fortunately, no one got hurt, they had to live on the streets for some time after that, his dad got a job as a blacksmith, and then his mother opened a hardware shop, and so, they managed to get by... um, Piper lives with her dad on a small lodge that was previously a Cherokee reserve, he makes money by selling hunting supplies and giving small tours around the area, her mom is kind of a touchy subject, she left Piper when she was an one and a half year old, Piper hates her for it, what else?, ah, her eyes changes color depending on how you look at them, I guess it's called kaleidocope eyes, kaleidosoap eyes? Kaleidosoup? Ah whatever, that got me very freaked out when I met her". _So that's what it is_. Annabeth thought. "She likes trekking in the pinewoods a lot too, I guess she likes the native feel, you know what I'm talking about?". He finished, and the girl was still looking at him, trying to remind Jason that he still didn't talk about himself.

"What? Oh, me?". Annabeth nodded. "You see, my life is not that interesting, my dad is Zeke Jupiter Grace, you know, owner of Olympus Corp, resposible for most of the income around the city, no big deal". _My aunt's boss?_. Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "My mom was a Holywood actress, but she mostly stays home doing nothing all day after she married my dad, my older sister, Thalia, became addicted to coke after her best friend died in a car accident a year ago, I don't know why she's always raging on my parents, but she tries to be nice to me everytime, what else can I say? All my life I got everything handed to me, it's not as good as it sounds, everyone treated me like a prince or something, except for Piper and Leo". Annabeth tried to lighten the mood a little bit.

" _Oh poor rich kid_ ". She showed him her notepad.

"Hey!". Jason argued, Annabeth could tell he was trying not laugh.

 ** _3 hours later_**

The four were now standing outside in the school's parking lot chatting, Jason asked Leo if he could stay and help him around the shop like he always does, it was an opportunity for him to do something and spend his time with a friend.

"What do you guys keep doing there anyway?". Piper asked.

"Oh, you know, stuff". Jason replied.

"Like what? Making out?". She provoked.

"If I ever make out with another guy, trust me, it won't be Leo".

"Hey, and why is that? Am I not hot enough to you?". Leo argued.

"Dude, just don't". Jason sighed, the girls were laughing at their reaction, Annabeth felt like she could spend the rest of her day with them, but she had to go home, Mellie would be there in half an hour to check up on her, and knowing the little woman's paranoia, Annabeth thought it would be best not to confront her, she wrote.

" _Gotta go now, see you guys tomorrow_ ". They all said goodbye and then Annabeth started walking her way home, the streets were empty and peaceful as usual, the girl enjoyed that small town feel, where there weren't waves of people on the streets doing their business, or the noise of cars stuck in traffic, the air was refreshing for her, she walked three blocks and was crossing the street when she saw a bulky girl with light brown hair and brown eyes she was with three other boys of similar stature, one of them was bald and had a rainbow tatooed on his muscly left shoulder, the other guy had dark skin and had black hair covering his eyes and lastly there was an Asian boy that didn't seem to like being there, he looked very uncomfortable, they were all taller than Annabeth.

"Look at what we have here, fresh meat... what? You scared little girl?" The bulky girl said with a smirk showing some of her crooked teeth. _No, not again_. Annabeth thought, another group of bullies trying to get in her way, she needed to tread carefully with these ones though, they didn't seem they were just going to talk crap about her hair like the other girls. "You see, we use to dunk the newbies' heads in a toilet as a way to get everyone in the school's spirit, so what do you say we turn and go back to school, huh pretty girl?". Annabeth was calculating every scape route she could run to, the thing is that she wasn't the athletic type so the question that was ringing in her head was, could she outrun them?. _Probably not_. She thought, now regretting never taking her physical education classes seriously, she would have to put every single obstacle she could in their way to slow them down, she was ready to start running and execute her plan when she heard someone behind her speak.

"And what do you say you pick someone your size?". _That voice_. She said mentally, she turned to see the person that voice belonged to, yup, it was that boy from her dreams, the hair, the skin, the eyes, there was no mistake.

"Do you know who I am, boy?". The big girl asked menacingly.

"Shrek?". He half answered.

"You newbies need to learn your place". Said the bald guy cracking his knucles, the Asian dude, that looked very uncomfortable, spoke after thinking very hard at what he was going to say.

"Let's go guys, I think they got the message". He tried to sound very convincing.

"Shut up, soft-boy! Nobody messes with us and just walk away!". The girl glared back at him.

"Zhang is right, you remember what she said if we beat someone on the first day?". The dark skinned boy said.

"I know what she said!". _Who is she?_. Annabeth wondered, the bulky girl then huffed and turned to look at Annabeth and the green-eyed boy at her left, with a grin on her face. "Well, since today is the first day at school and I'm in such a good mood, I'm gonna let that pass, but if I ever see you two again, especially you". She pointed at the boy. "I'll kick your asses so bad, you're not gonna know which way is up, got it?".

"Sounds good to me". The boy said calmly, with a smile plastered on his face, Annabeth nodded quickly, she really didn't want to mess with them.

"Let's go". The girl said and the other three boys followed her, after they left the boy turned his look and asked Annabeth.

"Showed them not to mess with us, right?". _Yeah, and if by that you mean almost getting beat the crap out of, sure_. The girl thought, she nodded her head slowly.

"Hi my name is Perseus Jackson, but you can call me Percy, everyone does, um, or at least did". He raised his hand for a high-five, the blonde looked at him and at his hand awkwardly, she then raised hers for a handshake, Percy decided to go along with her.

"Ok, my house is on that direction too, mind if I come with you?". The blonde shook her head with a smile and they started walking. _He doesn't seem that bad_. She thought.

"By the way I like your cap, it's got a nice colour, but the Red Sox is better". _I take it back_. She said mentally, Percy never cared much about sports, he just said that to tease her, some time passed between them and he said in a serious tone.

"You really are mute, aren't you?". Annabeth looked down and nodded, she was feeling ashamed, like she let someone down.

"It doesn't matter, just makes you more special than you already look". His answer shook her very core, was he crazy? How did that make her special? She could never talk to someone ever again, no one would know her voice, how it sounded when she said 'good morning', or 'how are you', or 'I love you', she could never tell someone that she loved them, how did that make her special? She was certain that it was a bad thing, but his answer made her doubt her judgement, not regret about what happened, something she was trying to do on her own, she then wrote on her notepad to shake that thought out of her mind.

" _You know, it was very unwise for you to get into that situation with me, you dork_ ". She showed him.

"Wait, wait, let me get this straight, I try to stand up for you and you call me a dork? You're owing me one, you jerk". He responded, Annabeth wrote again.

" _I called you a dork and you called me a jerk, I think it's wise to say that we're even_ ". She smiled.

"That's not how it... *sigh* fine then wise girl, can I at least know your name?". He said in a defeated tone.

" _Annabeth Chase :)_ ". She showed him.

"I suppose the smiley face is not really part of your name?". He smiled. _That's a cool name_. He thought, the girl shook her head with a chuckle, she then stopped, they were in front of her house, she looked at it then back at Percy trying to tell him that.

"It's your house?". She nodded.

"Cool I live two blocks far from you, I could come over tomorrow morning and we could walk together to school, what d'you say huh?". Annabeth nodded naturally. Wait, why did I just do that?. She thought.

"How about I pick you up at, I don't know, seven thirty?". He asked, Annabeth shrugged in response, he turned and started walking.

"Ok then, see you tomorrow". He waved, the blonde opened the door and entered the house, she went upstairs to her room and watched the boy walk away through her window, leaving her alone thinking about him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's notes**

 **STOP AND READ THIS WARNING!**

 **While reading this chapter, go to youtube and listen to Black don't Glow by The Bass Drum of Death, this chapter will contain some harsh language, so I apologize if any of you feel offended, I just wanted to make it look more realistic-ish, also, I've made some very little tweaks at the first chapter, it's not something that's going to ad up a lot to the story, but feel free to read it again anyway.**

 **And I've got a question for you guys and I'd be very grateful if you could help me out, so there's this idea of a new fic I'm screwing around with, it's from the marvel cartoon universe, but here's the thing, I don't know which category I should put it, it's an OC that's related to one of the avengers (I don't wanna spoil anything), and it's going to work a little with spiderman's web warriors, but it will mostly do its own thing, I really appreciate any review and help you can give me.**

 **Enough talk let's get to the chapter, enjoy.**

 **I do not own the rights to Percy Jackson and the Olympians' characters, they belong to Rick Riordan.**

 _ **Chapter 6**_

Percy went to sleep late that night, Paul was too tired from his work at all the schools he teached around Astoria, to bother sending the teen to bed. _Percy knows how to handle himself_. He thought, the boy was laying on his bed with his earbuds blasting 'Black don't Glow' by The Bass Drum of Death on his, well, ears. Imagine that you were born, to a poor family, in a poor neighborhood, and by the time you were 13 everything the world has given you was problems and no solutions.

 ** _Flashback-dream_**

Percy was five years old, he lived with his parents in an almost decaying apartment at the South Bronx, he was in his room playing with some broken toys he had, his parents came into the apartment and were now fighting at the living room, it became almost a routine the last few weeks, his mom would be out at work the whole day, his dad would take care of him in the morning and after lunch he would go out on the streets of New York and look for a job, he would come home after some hours with a disappointed look on his face, sit on a armchair put some kind of sugar that Percy didn't know what it was, on the table and sniff it, his father would then just sit there, staring at the ceiling, his mother would then come home and start screaming at the 24 year old man.

"I CAN'T LOVE YOU ANYMORE!". Screamed the 23 year old woman, Sally Jackson, his mother.

"Oh, I see, now you say you can't love me anymore, now that we're on this SHITHOLE you conveniently don't love me anymore, that's fucking great, AND WHAT ABOUT PERCY, HUH? What? You don't love him anymore too?". Responded Gabe Poseidon Jackson, Percy's father, the kid was peeking through the keyhole on his bedroom, he didn't know what was going on.

"You son of a bitch, don't you dare bring up Percy". Her eyes were teary, she was crying. "Don't you dare, don't you dare, don't you...". She looked down and then raised her head again. "I've made up my mind".

"You've". Gabe half said and half sighed, shocked, his eyes were also starting to get teary. "How can you do this shit? You're sick, you're sick, YOU'RE A SICK FUCK!". He then angrily walked into his bedroom and grabbed a plastic bag with more of that white powder, he put some on the drawer and started sniffing it again, Sally followed him into the room and said.

"Look at you, look at you Gabe, you've turned yourself into a fucking coward, haven't you? This is the only way you know how to deal with life". Meanwhile Percy approached the bedroom on his blue pajamas, his mom stormed out of the bedroom past him, and left the apartment angrily.

"COME BACK HERE SALLY!". He screamed and started following her, when he saw the toddler scared he felt like crap inside, he couldn't let things stay this way, he couldn't let his son feel scared, he kneeled down and faced Percy eye to eye.

"I'm sorry we woke you up Percy, don't worry though, mommy and I are just going for a little walk in the park, okay? Everything is going to be fine, daddy will come back, okay? Daddy will always be back for you". He gently said with a smile, his characteristic hoarse voice and subtle New York accent, he then tussled the boy's hair a little. "Now go back to sleep". Percy obeyed him, the kid felt a little more relieved hearing that from his father.

Still on his dream, Percy was awake by the sound of an opening door coming from the living room, he slowly walked to see what it was, a man was standing in front of it, it was his father, his face was all red from crying, he was stinking, like he slept in trash bin or something, he kneeled down to Percy, and started apologizing.

"I'm sorry Percy, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, mommy she... she died Percy, it was a car, I didn't see it coming, I couldn't see it, come here". He then hugged his son, like it was the last thing on Earth that he could hug, Percy didn't understand what was happening, but moved by his father's crying, he started sobbing too.

Then his surroundings started to change, the yellow cracked walls transformed into the walls of a building, the floor beneath turned into stairs, Percy was ten, he was now going home after another boring day at school, his cheekbone was bruised and his arms had some cuts because of a fight he was in, he opened the door to the decaying apartment he hated and lived his whole life, his father was sitting on the armchair, staring at the ceiling. _Yup, he sniffed it again_. He walked by the armchair and gave soft kick on his dad shin.

"Wake up! Time to go to work". He said, the man shook his head awake and spoke.

"Let's go".

They were going to the seaport, Gabe got a stable job there some months ago, transporting some cargo from big cruisers on a small boat to the docks next to the Brooklyn Bridge, it wasn't the greatest thing in the world, but the money they got was enough to pay the roof over their heads, the raven-haired man noticed the bruise on Percy's face but decided not comment on it. Although the boy didn't like his father, and was always arguing with him about stopping his addiction and be more responsible, Percy liked going to the seaport with him, he liked the calmness of the ocean, it was an opportunity to get away from the violence of the South Bronx, the noise of Manhattan, to get away from it all.

After a lot of hardwork, they were heading back to the docks and delivering the last cargo, the sun was setting behind the skyline, the sky was painted orange, Percy was sitting on the little boat's prow admiring the view, when his dad came over and said.

"Scoot". The boy moved a little bit to the right and asked.

"Aren't you supposed to be behind the wheel?".

"There's a trick to keep the boat going straight without taking care of the wheel, what? You don't know about the Jacksons' amazing sailing skills?". A smiled formed in the corner of his slight cracked lips.

"There's only one thing I know about the Jacksons, don't count on them". Percy coldly said, Gabe sighed.

"How was the fight?". The grown up asked.

"It wasn't even me who started it, these jerks were messing with Grover and-". Percy tried to defend himself, when his father cut him off.

"It's okay Percy, what you did wasn't wrong, it's very noble to stand up for others, it takes a lot of balls, a lot of courage, so tell me, d'you win?". Gabe said.

"Well I punched the main guy on his face hard, and then his friends punched me harder".

"Good, next time after you punch the main guy don't stand there like an idiot, run".

"Yeah". Percy coldly said, he was still depressed over losing, over not being able to protect those around him. _So that's what's bugging him_. Gabe said mentally.

"Percy why do people fall?".

"It's because they trip on something? Gravity?". The boy responded.

"No Percy, no". Gabe then stood up and lend his hand to the boy. "It's so they can rise again, stronger". For a moment it looked that Percy actually appreciated his dad's advice, but then completely changed his expression so the man wouldn't know, he refused his father's help and stood up by himself.

"Sounds very nice coming from a shoplifter and an addict, go back to the wheel, I want to go home".

"Aye aye captain". Gabe saluted him and went back to the wheel.

Then his surroundings started to change again, he was inside a building, it was getting dark outside, Percy was going up the stairs to his apartment after finishing his job as a replacement for a bike courier, he opened the door and saw his dad drinking a beer on the armchair.

"So you get fired, and the little money we have, you drink away, ARE YOU RETARDED?". The boy angrily said.

"You're very stressed for a twelve year old". Gabe complained, Percy sighed, he put his hand on his forehead and started rubbing.

"I'm thirteen". Gabe gave a confused look.

"You liar, you were twelve yesterday".

"It's August eighteenth".

"Oh, it's your birthday". The raven-haired adult expression was a depressing sight, he looked like he felt very bad for not remembering his son's birthday.

"Weird huh? It's the same day it was last year". The boy sarcastically said.

"I'm sorry, I promise I'll make things right, I'll look for a job tomorrow... well, since it's your birthday". Gabe offered the bottle to his son. "Drink it up".

"I'm gonna smash this on your head". He glared the junkie.

Another day passed, it was dark again, Percy was entering home and he didn't see any signs of his father. _He said he was going to be here before it got dark_. He thought, the green-eyed boy instinctively went to his father's bedroom and looked for a plastic bag with white powder, he didn't found it and immediately went to The Labyrith Rock Club, the place where his father usually bought cocaine and got high sometimes.

"Son of a". Percy muttered along the way, after walking some minutes he finally got there, it was a crappy old building that was all vandalized and graffitied, he talked to the bouncer, the big man knew Percy, it wasn't uncommon seeing the boy wanting to go in to get his father.

"Hey Percy, your dad's in here, I can't leave this place, so Imma let you in". He opened the door for Percy.

"Thanks Mike".

 _Woke up and I'm on my face_

 _Failed to see the wrong again_

When he got in, he was taken aback by the volume of the music, the smell of alcohol and drugs, it was not a pretty sight, groups of people laying on the ground completely out of it, there was some other people throwing up either because they had too much booze or drugs Percy didn't want to know.

 _Not new to the tango ways_

 _I know it's longer but when_

He finally spotted his father sitting on a table spacing out, he angrily walked over to him and pushed the man.

 _Any time you look, you'll see me trying_

"First you get fired from your job, then you forgot my birthday, and now, instead of keeping your promise, you're back on this shitty place getting high, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!". The boy felt all the anger in the world flowing through his veins.

 _Everytime I look you'll see me dying_

 _AND I WANT TO_

"Percy look it's not-". Gabe tried to defend himself.

 _And it feels so wrong now baby._

"SHUT UP!". The melody of the song got the boy even more pumped and angrier, he then grabbed the plastic bag with the powder.

 _I DON'T NEED YOU, if black don't glow._

 _(Guitar solo)_

"If you love this so much, THEN YOU CAN GO CHOKE ON IT". The boy screamed and threw the bag on his father.

"Percy, I-". Gabe was interrupted by the boy, who tried to throw a glass bottle that was lying around at him, the surroundings started to change again, instead of being on a smelly club he was laying on his bed staring at the cracked walls and the ceiling of his bedroom, after the whole scene at the club the day before, he locked the door to his apartment so that his dad couldn't come in, he was surprised that the man didn't come over and tried to enter yet, the old alarm clock on his room showed that it was still 9:37 AM, he looked out the window, it was raining, Percy didn't like the rain too much, it always got on his way, but in moments like these it was perfect to make him more relaxed, he then heard a knock on his door.

"Go away". He hollered.

"Percy Jackson". That voice didn't belong to his father, it didn't belong to anyone Percy knew, what could this man want with him? Curiosity got the best of him, he reached the front door and unlocked it revealing a thirty-something year old man with a pot belly, salt and pepper long hair and kind of a sad look on his face.

"Who are you?". Percy asked with a little bit of hostility he still felt from yesterday.

"Hi, my name is Paul Blofis, I'm friends with your parents-". Percy then interrupted the man and tried to close the door.

"I don't have any money". The guy put his foot between the door, stopping Percy's action

"No, I'm not that kind of friend, I'm really 'friend' friend". Percy sighed and then said.

"What do you want?". Paul scratched the back of his neck.

"How do I tell you this? Um, your dad, he did a really, really, bad thing and he's going in jail for it, I'm supposed to take you to Oregon with me and watch over you". Percy eyes widened, he didn't know how to respond to that, he didn't feel bad for his father, but deep inside he was worried about him, he wanted to punch himself for that.

"What did he do?". The boy asked.

"He, um, it was murder, he broke in a house and killed a family". It took a lot for Percy not to scream and curse his father for being so stupid again.

"He always manages to ruin everything, I bet he wanted their money to buy more of that stuff". He said.

"What stuff?". Paul asked.

"Nevermind, where did you say you were taking me again?". The boy responded.

"Astoria, it's a nice little town in Oregon". _Oregon huh?._ Percy thought, it seemed good to him, a fresh start, he didn't want to stay on that place anymore, New York offered nothing to him but trouble, he wanted to leave it all behind, his father, his home, his past, everything, he then looked at the man standing on the door.

"So when are we going?".

"Today, our flight is leaving at one PM, I'm going to the hotel to pack my things, I'll be back in forty minutes or so, I can bring a suitcase if you need". The man replied.

"There's no need for it". Then suddenly, everything turned black.

 _ **End of the dream**_

Percy groggily opened his eyes, and took off his earbuds that was still playing the same song, it was the only one he had, he had gotten his first phone not so long ago, he still didn't know how to use it right, but he was getting the hang of it, he yawned and looked what time it was, 7:28 AM, he then remembered of a certain blond girl that couldn't speak, waiting for him to go to school. _Oh crap_.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Notes**

 **Sorry for not updating, I've been working on a new fic, so stay tuned for a new story coming out. Enjoy the chapter**

 **I do not own the rights to Percy Jackson and the Olympians' characters, those belong to Rick Riordan.**

 _ **Chapter 7**_

Annabeth was sitting on her bed, peeking through the window to see if the boy was coming or not, she looked at her phone, 7:36 AM. _Why is he_ _so late?_. A voice in her mind asked. _Why do you care?_. Annabeth replied.

Yesterday she told Mellie that she didn't need a ride to school, it was hard to convince her that she could go on foot with a friend, she was paranoic like that, now the girl was wondering if Percy would actually show up, for some unknown reason she was eager to walk with him and get to known him a little better, she wanted to slap herself for being such a dork. She had a good night of sleep, she didn't have other nightmares or dreams either, it also rained last night, which means that the streets had some puddles and the weather was cool. She looked at her phone again, 7:37 AM. She pondered and finally thought. _You know what? if this jerk is not showing up, I'm going alone_. She was determined, but then another voice spoke, throwing her again in the pit of doubt. _But what if he shows up? Let's just wait a couple more minutes_. It felt like reading Hamlet all over again, 'To go or not to go, that's the question', her thoughts however were interrupted by the green-eyed boy's shouting.

"Hey wise girl! You coming or what?". Annabeth left her cap on the drawer, she didn't want to wear it today, the girl ran downstairs and opened the door, revealing the 5'32" teenager, he looked like he was swallowed whole, chewed by a whale and then spit out, his hair was all messy, he still had sleep in his eyes and he was wearing wrinkly clothes.

"Sup?". He greeted, Annabeth wanted to punch him for being so late, but then realized that wasn't a very nice way to say good morning, she then wrote on her notepad.

"You' _re late, we're lucky we don't live that far from school_ ".

"Oh c'mon, it was just some minutes". Percy complained. "By the way, I think your doorbell is broken". _Yeah, tell me something I don't know_. She thought, they started walking, the girl was admiring the view of the typical almost sunny day that comes after the rain, she was holding her notepad and scribbling down some words. She wanted to ask about him, know him better, but couldn't figure out how to start. _Piper said he's not from here, maybe I could go from there_.

" _Where you're from?_ ". She held it in front of Percy.

"Is it that obvious I'm not from here?". Annabeth didn't know how to answer, she didn't want to tell him that she's been asking about him. "I'm from New York". The girl started writing again with an excited smile on her lips.

" _Me too, I used to live in Chelsea_ ". She liked the thought of having someone who was from her hometown around.

"A fellow New Yorker, eh?". He said with a fake accent and a smile, Annabeth chuckled a bit, even though he could not hear it, Percy liked her chuckle, then his face turned serious. "I'm from the South Bronx". The smile disappeared from the girl's face too, she remembered the place, about how violent and poor it was. As cool as the Yankee Stadium was, as pretty as the animals from the Bronx Zoo might be, darkness was always drawn to that place.

"It was always tough for me, never had two pennies to rub together, my mom, she... died when I was little, a car hit her, my father, well, he was a drug addict, I hate him". Annabeth wrote with a mixture of concern and pity for the boy.

" _Did he abuse you?_ ".

"No, no, it's just that, he was always, I don't know, been irresponsible. Every time he got a job he managed to get fired, he spent our money to get high, he also forgot some of my birthdays. He would always mess things up, that's why I hate him". Annabeth felt bad for him, one thing is having to experience a horrible tragedy that ruins your life, but another, and much far worse in her opinion, is not having a life to be ruined in the first place, she felt lucky compared to him.

" _What happened to him?_ ".

"He's in jail, I hear that it's a life sentence, not that I care, he's not my problem anymore". He coldly said, Annabeth wanted to stop asking about the boy's father, it was obviously making him depressed and uncomfortable, but she couldn't help, she was very curious.

" _What he do?_ ".

"I'd rather not talk about it". He scratched his neck. "If it's ok with you". _If it's ok with me? You're the one who's telling your life experience, you idiot_. The girl thought, she decided she shouldn't ask him about his father anymore, it was clear he didn't like talking about it.

"After he got arrested, an old guy called Paul Blofis came and said he would take care of me. He says that he's friends with my parents, met them at high school, I don't really know much else, I never asked anyway".

" _What's he like?_ ".

"Umm, he always tries to be polite and treats me fairly. He's a good guy, just don't call him blowfish".

" _Noted_ ". She showed him her notepad with a smile.

They were getting closer to the school, Annabeth could see the other kids arriving and talking to their friends in the park that surrounded the main building, she started writing to the boy again.

" _Don't you want to know about me?_ ".

"Nah, not really, why? Do you wanna talk about yourself?". He asked, the girl thought for a second, she didn't have to tell everyone she met about her lifestory, so she decided to shake her head in response.

"See? So there's no point on me asking. I'm going to the classroom, see ya". He waved and walked into the main building. Piper, who was watching them coming together, walked over to Annabeth and decided to tease her.

"Wow, it's been only one day at school and you already got a boyfriend, you're quick huh?". Annabeth shook her head furiously, trying to tell her friend that she didn't have those kind of feelings to the boy, part of her felt annoyed by her teasing, and another felt embarassed for letting Piper know that she's been hanging out with the guy she was asking about yesterday. Anyone who saw the situation from outside would come to the conclusion that the girl was obsessed with him, something that Annabeth was willing to make it very clear that wasn't the case, or was it? Was she having feelings for him? Was she really obsessed with him?. _NO-I'M-NOT_. She screamed mentally, trying to shake that thought out of her head, she would not let this get to her.

"So tell me, d'you learn anything about him?". Piper asked, bringing Annabeth back to the moment. The mute girl didn't think it was right to tell about Percy's story without him knowing, so she started writiting on her notepad.

" _It's not right for me to tell it_ ".

"What are you talking about? It was you who started asking about him, remember?". Piper had a point, but still, was it okay for her to go out waggling her tongue, or rather hand, about Percy's past? _What the hell_. Annabeth sighed mentally.

" _Fine, I'll write it down when we get to class, tell NO ONE about it this time_ ".

"Ok I promise, let's get going then". The native girl smiled, this time she truly intended to tell nobody about it, she saw just how quick information could spread around this school, she would not make the same mistake again. They were in the main hall, the light that came from the glass dome made the walls even more yellow, it was possible to see their own reflection at the floor, the centaur painting was aiming his bow proudly, kids were everywhere, getting their books from their lockers, sitting in groups talking to each other, some seniors could be seen going upstairs to their respective classes, it seemed like a relative peaceful day at Goode Junior and Senior High, when suddenly they were stopped by the grumpy, vegan, French teacher, Hera White.

"YOU!". Shouted the woman with her finger pointed at Annabeth's startled face. "You Chases are nothing but trouble, if you think you're going to prank me then you're very wrong, I'm watching you and your friends, je te surveille". She gestured with her hand and left. Piper who was also weirded out turned her head to the blonde and asked.

"Do you know what she's talking about?". The girl knew, but decided not to tell, so she just gave a shrug.

 _ **5 minutes later**_

Annabeth was writing down what she found out about Percy to Piper, meanwhile, the braided girl was chatting with Jason about things like movies, TV shows, these kind of things that kids chat about to pass the time and get closer to each other, the reason for these things' existence, create a word appealing to people so they can talk to each other, communicate, get to know their personalities better, sometimes they agreed with what sequel was good or bad, sometimes they didn't, when then, he asked her.

"What you say about us trekking this weekend at the woods, huh?". Piper lifted her eyebrows.

"Think you can keep up with me this time?". She asked, doubting the boy's capabilities.

"This time I'm sure". He answered, Jason became much more athletic the past summer, he went swimming on Cannon Beach, running around his huge house and parks, he even took some martial arts classes, nobody knew that he did all this to impress Piper later. Annabeth then tapped the brown-haired girl's arm and gave her, on a page of her notebook, what she knew about the boy sitting not so far from them.

"What's she saying?". Jason asked trying to read the paper that was on Piper's hands.

"It's nothing, is just something I asked her about New York". She lied.

"Ok, so I'll just pretend what you said it's true and keep it to myself". He smiled.

"That would be best". She responded, Piper was a good liar, but Jason knew her so well that he could tell when she was trying to hide something. The secret was to look her in the eyes, most of the time when she lying or nervous her eyes would turn green, when she was sad or happy it would turn blue, and brown was when she was angry or bored. Jason couldn't tell the science behind that, he also didn't care, her eyes was one of his favorite sights to see, it was like appreciating the view of an Oregonian pinewood, the brown was the earth and the hills, the green was the trees and grass, and the blue was the sky. Meanwhile, Piper read the note Annabeth handed to her.

"Wow, this guy had it rough, like you... you know, I think that you two are perfect together, you really sure you don't like him?". Annabeth punched the girl's arm in response.

"Ow, okay, I get it". She said rubbing where the blonde hit her, she put the note away in her backpack. Although she didn't have any talent for it, Piper liked playing the matchmaker, for some reason she liked helping people come together, in her head all she needed to prove that she could be a great matchmaker was an opportunity, and the two New Yorkers who had tragic things happening to their lives were a ripe opportunity indeed. She would never let the boys see this side of her though, Leo would never stop mocking her if they knew it. Then, the door was abruptly open by a blond-haired man with blue eyes, he looked like if Jason was the mixture of a hippie and an archeologist. Percy, Jason, Annabeth and Piper had to admit, he was hot, he was wearing an Indiana Jones hat, a sleeveless brown leather jacket, a white dress shirt and cargo pants.

"Good morning brilliant minds of the future generation". He said very enthusiastically. "I'm your new History teacher, archeologist and sometimes musician, Apollo Carter, and I'm here to teach you kids that in order to understand the world of tomorrow and today, we must first learn about the world of hundreds of years ago, about the mysteries of the Ancient Egypt's piramids, the magnitude and glories of the cities of the Roman Empire and Greece, but you don't have to go too far, even here, in Astoria, there are still things worth studying, like the hidden tombs the Native Americans built where they hid the corpses of their most fiercest warriors and most beautiful treasures".

"Hey Piper, you know of any hidden tombs in your backyard?". Said a ginger girl that sat next to Drew, the bullies laughed at her comment, Apollo then approached the girl with a very scary face.

"Is there something you'd like to share with us to further increase the quality of our experience miss?". He asked menancingly, it was incredible, no one could've expected that the blond man, who looked so nice, turn so scary in a second.

"N-no sir". The ginger stammered, his tone changed to the earlier nice and cheerful behaviour.

"Good... class, please open your books on page thirty-four, mesopotamia and the first civilized cities".

 _ **Two and a half hours later**_

Piper and Annabeth were in the gym locker room getting ready for their PE class, their uniform was an orange T-shirt with the school's mascot, the black centaur, printed on the center and 'Goode' written under it, and some black shorts. Annabeth was still wearing her scarf, she really didn't want to take it off and show her scar to everyone in the gym.

"You know you can't wear this, right?". Piper pointed out, the mute girl nodded and wrote on her notepad.

" _Why do we have to take gym class?_ ".

"I don't think the school has enough funds to pay another teacher". Annabeth sighed and slowly took off her scarf, revealing a red-pinkish streak on her throat.

"That's where the bullet hit you, isn't it?". Piper said looking at the scar, Annabeth nodded again and wrote.

" _How does it look?_ ". The girl read the note and looked at the scar again, she couldn't take her eyes out of it, she was trying to figure it out, deciding if it was ugly or not.

"It's, umm... how can I say this?". Annabeth, assumed the worse, she instantly dropped the notepad and covered her throat using her hair. _I knew it_. She said mentally.

"No, no, different, I was gonna say different". Piper tried to calm the blonde down, but Annabeth still wasn't convinced.

"It's really not that bad, and if someone even thinks trying to put you down because of it, I swear, me and Jason will beat the crap out of them". She smiled, the mute girl didn't think they would actually do that for her, but it was enough to know that at least someone was willing to stand up for her, and not call her a freak. She let go of her own hair revealing the scar again, but she still looked uncomfortable, she didn't want to show it to everyone else.

"Look, if you really don't wanna show it to everyone, I might have something that can help you out". The braided girl said, shuffling through some things on her locker until she found a Native American collar made of a rather thick fabric, it looked like it could cover the scar.

"Here let me put it on you". She said, Annabeth held her hair up to not let it get on the way, after Piper was done, the blonde looked at the mirror and touched her neck, the collar covered most of the scar. Annabeth then turned to her friend.

"My aunt gave it to me, but you can have-". Piper couldn't finish her sentence because Annabeth was suddenly hugging her, it was the most effective way the blonde could think of thanking her without having to use the words she was unable to say. Piper gave into the hug, it felt good having a friend doing that, it felt like spring, it was warm and sweet, smelled like daisies, not as passionate and strong as a piercing red rose, it was innocent, genuine, pure, something that had no thorns, a flower that you would gift to a friend, or a brother, or a sister, maybe even your parents, something that reminds you that things were once simpler. Piper then started saying with a puppet's voice.

"Oh Piper, you're the best friend in the world". She then changed to her own voice. "Ah Annabeth, stop it, I know that already". The girls broke out of their hug chuckling, and Annabeth softly punched her friend on the shoulder, she then grabbed the notepad that was lying on the floor and wrote.

" _You think I would sound like that?_ ". They were both smiling.

"What? Who knows?". Piper responded with a shrug. Some minutes later, they were in the gym lined up with the other kids.

"Listen up cupcakes! My name is Gleeson Hedge, but for you, I'm coach Hedge. And if I find any of you slacking, I'll make you scrub the floor with your tears! Did I make myself clear?!". The voice belonged to a rather small brown-haired man, he wasn't much taller than Mellie, he was carrying a wooden baseball bat, Annabeth preferred not to think of what he did with it, the short man was wearing an orange polo shirt and black sweatpants.

"Don't worry, coach Hedge only carries that around to intimidate". Piper whispered to the blonde, and it was true, Gleeson Hedge would never hit his students, make them do 50 pushups, sure, but not hit them. Besides Drew Tanaka, no one would dare question his authority though.

"To quote a great man, your success begins within you, if you do not notice it the first, others won't ever notice it". _Is that a Chuck Norris quote?_. Annabeth thought. "So let's get going already you maggots! The girls will do laps around the court, while you boys will do fifty pushups and seventy-five situps to warm up". Everyone complained, Annabeth didn't like the idea of having to do laps for the next fifty minutes, but it seemed way better than having to go through those ridiculous amounts 'warm up' exercises, so she just kept quiet, well, it's not like she had any other choice, the girl left her notepad on the locker.

 _ **Some time later**_

It was the end of the 4th period and all kids were leaving the classroom to go have lunch at the cafeteria, Annabeth was still finishing some notes on the class and solving some math problems she didn't want to do at home.

"Hey Annabeth aren't you coming?". Jason asked, the girl wrote on a page of her notebook.

" _I'm just gonna finish some notes on the class, be there in a minute_ ".

"Ok then, you know where to find us". Piper said as she waved goodbye and left the classroom with Jason. The blonde was alone on the room scribbling down some things about the class, she liked being alone sometimes, it made easy for her to focus. Once she finished her notes, she left the room and started walking down the corridor towards the main hall, when she heard the voice of the bulky girl in a corner beating another boy.

"So you thought it would be funny to steal from us, huh Stoll?". She menancingly said, Annabeth was peeking from the corner of the wall.

"I think you're taking this the wrong way Clarisse, I wasn't going to keep it, I was just trying to borrow it and see if I could do any impro-". The brown-haired boy nervously tried to defend himself, but was interrupted by the girl.

"Enough with your 'borrows' and other fancy words Connor".

"I'm Travis". He answered

"Shut up! I don't care which one of the twins you are, it's time for you to learn your place little thief, you know, maybe I should go over to your brother and teach him the same lesson, just in case". Annabeth escaped from that place, she had to do something to stop that girl from beating the boy, but she wouldn't stand a chance fighting that behemoth, she needed to find one of the two school security guards she knew there was, or a teacher, hell, even a janitor would do. She was running across the main hall until she found one of the guards by the entrance of the cafeteria, she hurriedly approached him and started poking at him, trying to get his attention, he slowly turned his head and asked her.

"What do you want girl?". Piper spotted her friend at the entrance of the cafeteria and starting waving to her.

"Hey Annabeth! What you waiting for?". Annabeth looked at her friend and gestured her to wait, she pulled the guard's arm trying to tell him to follow her, he reluctantly obeyed her, trying to figure out what she was trying to say. Piper was looking at the scene and found it really weird, she turned her head to Jason and spoke.

"Hey Jason, wanna check that out?".

"Yeah". He said sitting up from the table, Leo crossed his arms.

"Sure, leave, it's not like I don't want to sit here alone talking to no one".

"Sorry dude, but someone has to save our spot". Jason said as he ran too, trying to catch up to Piper. Annabeth brought the guard to where both kids were, Jason and Piper reached them, it didn't look good, the girl had her left hand strangling the boy, his face had some bruises and some blood was dripping from his nostrils, the girl's right hand was formed into a fist ready to punch him when the guard camly said, too calm for Annabeth's opinion.

"And what you think you're doing, Clarisse?". The girl immediately released him, he fell on his butt, with his back leaning against the wall.

"Oh, Mr. Procrustes, he was, umm, sexually violating me!". She said trying to find a good excuse.

"You mean harassing?". Procrustes asked.

"Yeah that. He, erm, tried to touch one of my boobs". _Even a dog can tell that you're lying, we got you now_. Annabeth thought, mentally high-fiving herself. But then the man spoke, breaking all of her expectations.

"Mr. Stoll, you should be ashamed of yourself, go to the infirmary first and then tell principal Brunners what you've done". _Wait! Did he just buy that?_. Annabeth's face could only express shock and disbelief, the boy passed through her with a very pissed off face.

"Gee, thanks for the help". His voice felt like a cold rock on the blonde's back, where was the part she messed up so bad, things turned that way? Was this for real? The guard spoke again.

"Come Clarisse, we need to talk". And the girl followed him looking to Annabeth, her face's expression told her, 'you are next'. The blonde turned to her friends who were standing there with not too much surprised faces.

"Rookie's mistake". Piper said.

"Clarisse La Rue, unlike her gang, never got into deep trouble, the staff always seems to go soft on her, I really don't know what goes between her and them". Jason added, Annabeth took her notepad and her pen from her pocket and started writing.

" _Do you think she's bribing them?_ ".

"Nah, she's from the poor part of town, she wouldn't have the money". The boy answered.

"But you know, everytime after school, they go somewhere where no one can see them, you think that's when they're bribed?". Piper teased them with the mistery.

"You do remember what happened to the guys who got caught trying to spy the security guards, right?". Jason said.

"Then we don't get caught. So what do you guys say? Let's play a little game of spy?". She asked, Jason sighed.

"Fine, I'm with ya". He just wanted to spend more time around her, Piper turned her head to Annabeth asking if she was in, the blonde didn't have much of a choice, she's already signed her doom by trying to snitch the bulky girl to the security, she needed to stop Clarisse's bullying empire before she got beat, the girl nodded, giving her answer to her brown-haired friend.

"Good, all we need is a fourth member, you know, four is the lucky number". The native girl said.

"Let's call Leo". Jason answered.

"You really want to call Leo for a sneaky mission?".

"Yeah, you're right".

"I have an idea". And here's where Piper's true plan will unfold to you, reader. "Hey Annabeth, why don't you call your boyfriend to come with us?". The mute girl started writing furiously, Jason looked a little lost and asked.

"And who's the guy?".

"Tell you later". Meanwhile Annabeth was holding her notepad with an angry face.

" _He's NOT my boyfriend!_ ". The 'not' was written very largely on the page.

"Exactly, think about it, he looks quiet enough for a sneaky mission, and the best part, is that if we get caught, Chiron might go easy on us, 'cuz he lives with Mr. Blofis, remember? It's the perfect addition to the team!". Piper didn't actually care about what he would contribute to the mission. What she was trying to do is to bring Percy to the group, so she could know him better and make the two New Yorkers spend more time together, she felt like one of those evil overminds, and she kinda liked it.

"Sounds good". Jason stated, convinced by her idea. _Dammit!_. Annabeth cursed mentally. _It makes sense, he would be a great addition, and besides, it's not like he's actually going to come if ask him, right?_. Annabeth then wrote, it wouldn't cost anything to ask him.

" _Fine, I'll ask him_ ". Deep down, a part of her was excited, excited because she would then spend more time with him. _Please, someone punch me for thinking that_.

"Then it's all settled, tomorrow, after class, we'll follow Procrustes and see if he really is bribed or not by Clarisse".

 _ **Some time later**_

The class ended, all students were now getting out of the boring building and going home to have some fun, Annabeth was very worried, she was trying very hard to not be found by Clarisse or her group of 'lovely' friends, while at the same time trying to look for Percy, when then, someone tapped her shoulder. She jumped back thinking it was the bullies ready to take her to a place where no one would see them and show her a world of pain.

"Hey it's me". The voice belonged to the raven-haired boy, Annabeth put her hand on her chest trying to calm herself down.

"What a scaredy cat". He said with a smile, she kicked his shin.

"Ow, ow, I'm sorry!". He said while jumping in one leg and rubbing the other. "Let's go home". They walked a little, Percy was talking to her, asking her about what he could do for fun around the town.

" _I moved here not so long ago_ ".

"Oh I see, it's just that it gets so boring, since Paul is almost working all day, the only thing I do is sit around and listen to music".

" _Maybe you could read a book, I've got plenty at my place_ ". She smiled.

"Read a book? What are you? Sixty?". Annabeth looked at him trying to say 'hey'. "No offense, of course". The girl thought if it was a good idea to ask him to come tomorrow for their little investigation. _You know what? Screw it_. She was writing down what their friends had in mind.

"Tomorrow after class, me and some friends are going to spy on one of the security guards, we think he's being bribed by that girl who stopped us yesterday to not bust those bullies, we thought that you could help us, you wanna come?". Percy took some time to read and finally answered.

"Yeah, sure". Annabeth looked him with an expression that asked him 'you do?'.

"Yeah, someone's got to stop that swamp monster from bullying other people, it would make everyone's lives better, besides, I've got nothing to do anyway".

" _We can get into trouble_ ".

"Just one more reason for me to go, wise girl getting into trouble with the authorities would be a funny sight to see". He said with a smile. They stood in front of Annabeth's house again.

"Pick you up tomorrow at the same time?". She nodded with a smile and wrote.

" _Just don't be late_ ".

"Once I get the hang of this thing's alarm, I'll never be late". He said holding his phone.

" _Maybe I can teach you how to use it, tomorrow_ ".

"Maybe, well, see ya". He waved, leaving the girl looking forward to speaking to him again.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Notes**

 **I know, I'm a horrible person for keeping you guys waiting so long, but just wait a bit, let me explain what happened, I was caught on an international trip for this week and it was very hard to keep writing the chapter, ALSO MY NEW FIC IS UP, yeah bet you didn't see that coming, did ya? Actually yeah, I kind of announced that on the last chapter, don't worry, I'll keep trying to update as fast as I can, I'm just a slowpoke. If you, my friend, like superhero content trust me, I think you will like this new story. Enough talk let's get to the chapter, \o/.**

 **I do not own the rights to any of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians' characters, those belong to Rick Riordan.**

 _ **Chapter 8**_

Annabeth dreamed, it felt good to dream again, she missed it, but this dream however, was, at the very least, debatable. She was in the beach with Jason, Piper, Leo and Percy, the boys were wearing shorts and no shirts, and she couldn't help but stare and notice how hot Percy was, he had some abs, his body had some little scars here and there, but it only made him look more beatiful and fierce, everyone, except for him, started diving into the sea disappearing into the water and the waves, leaving no trace of them behind. Percy then walked over to her lending his hand, she accepted it and stood up, they were holding each other with their arms, her sundress was swaying with the wind, it felt like the whole nature was kissing and hugging her, their faces were only centimeters apart, she leaned and they were now kissing. God, how to describe said kiss? At first, it felt like the tides of the whole ocean were against her, demonstrating how strong they could be, but then, it felt like the little waves from the beach they were at. After what it felt like centuries of trying to swim on that ocean, she gave into it, the waves that were crashing on her made her feel tired, her knees faltered, and she was sunking into the ocean of that kiss and his arms, it was impossible for the little girl who wanted to be an architect to build something that could, figuratively and poetically, stand that massive ocean, she was sunking and feeling tired, she eventually needed something to hold on to, so she would not fully drown, she tried his hair, his shoulder and then his chest. They finally broke out of the kiss, Annabeth was breathing heavily.

"I love you, wise girl". He said in his wonderful voice, Annabeth was going to say the same, when then, she heard the sound of her alarm, and everything turned black.

The skinny girl with grey eyes woke up, she was breathing heavily and holding her blanket close to her chest, her heart was pounding against it. _What the hell was that?! Are you crazy Annabeth?!_. She thought, what was that dream? She looked to the jar containing the painkillers, she didn't swallow a pill since she'd met the boy two days before, so she couldn't blame that on her medicine's side effects. The girl was blushing so hard, she looked like a juicy tomato. Was that what they called a wet dream? Was she starting to fantasize about him?. _NO! NO! NO! NO!._ She screamed inside of her head _. Keep your calm Annabeth, just a random dream, it doesn't have to mean anything, just go get ready for school_. She did just that and when she finished eating her waffles, the boy called her.

"Let's go wise girl!". Annabeth put her plate on the sink, she would wash it later, she grabbed her backpack and reached the door where the boy was waiting for her, this time he looked better than yesterday, his hair was still messy, but his clothes weren't wrinkly, he looked like he washed his face today. She then remembered her dream and slightly blushed, she tried to hide it from him, it worked, he didn't notice it.

"So, when you gonna teach me how to use this thing?". He waved his phone in front of them, Annabeth thought a little. She decided that doing it on the middle of the street would probably not be the best idea, especially with her condition, she would have to write him how to use it. She doubted the teachers would let her do it on the class. Teaching him at lunch with her friends was definetly out of question, they would not stop teasing her. Then, they were going to spy on one of the guards after class.

" _My place, after we spy the guard?_ ".

"Sounds good". He smiled, she looked at his smile and started remembering the dream where he was holding her in his arms, she started blushing again, her left hand involuntarily slapped her own face.

"Why d'you did that for?". Percy asked weirded out, why did that girl hit herself? Percy wasn't very sure if that was a normal thing people did, was it something he said or did that made her do that? Annabeth thought of an excuse, she wrote.

" _I was trying to squash a mosquito_ ". She facepalmed herself mentally. _Is that the best excuse I can come up with?_.

"O-kay". He tried to sound convinced, but he couldn't help but to feel awkward. _Better not mess with that_. He thought.

 _ **Some hours later**_

The 4th period finished and all the kids were leaving the classroom to go to the cafeteria, Annabeth was again finishing some notes on the class.

"C'mon, Jason's already gone". Piper called her out, Annabeth turned to a page of her notebook where she wrote to her friend the day before.

" _I'm just gonna finish some notes on the class, be there in a minute_ ".

"Stop being such a nerd Annabeth! Girls our age shouldn't be taking notes on boring classes, we should be flirting with boys, going out, breaking the law, you know, enjoying life?". Yeah, that, Annabeth remembered how she was called by all the other kids on her previous school, 'nerd'. She wasn't socially awkward, she just preferred to read a book, instead of running around playing games with the others and getting into trouble. The girl also didn't think that what Piper said was actually the way to enjoy life. Sure, she liked to go out on a park or a museum or just walk around the city, but she didn't see herself flirting or doing wrong things, she was kind of a goody two-shoes when it came to that. She guessed she was like that because her dad was a district attorney and threatened to put her in jail if she disobeyed her mother since she was little, of course he didn't mean that, it was just something that fathers did to make sure their kids would turn out to be obedient and responsible. She wrote on her notebook.

" _But I'm just 13_ ".

"That's exactly what I'm saying! *sigh* Whatever, see you on the cafeteria". And with that, the native girl left Annabeth alone in the classroom, some minutes went by and the girl finished her notes and left the classroom, making her way to the cafeteria, she was on the main hall, there was group of kids sitting on the floor having lunch together and chatting, Annabeth saw some seniors on the upper floor doing the same, she liked that ambience, she preferred this school intead of her previous one, she didn't know how to explain it, but, it felt more natural, organic. She was getting close to one of the entrances to the cafeteria, when the bullies in pretty clothes got on her way.

"Look at what we have here Drew, it's mute girl!". Said one of them with caramel hair.

"Liked your new collar you used on gym class yesterday mute girl, is Piper trying to make you wear a war bonnet too?". Drew spoke and all the other girls started giggling.

"Good one Drew". Said a girl with icy blue eyes and blond hair in a ponytail.

"Oh please darling, I know how to keep them coming". The Asian girl replied, Annabeth was trying to control herself, she learned how to cope with reality, she was mute, she already had accepted it, being called one didn't bother her. _Better that than being fake like you_. She thought, she wanted to say that so everyone could hear it so bad, for the first time since she got the news about her situation on the hospital back in New York, she wanted to speak again with that intensity, but she wasn't going to kid herself, she couldn't. Personally, she thought that being a mute wasn't so bad, it could be worse, she could be blind, or deaf, or even be on a wheelchair, in her opinion, it was those guys who really got the short end of the stick, but it was moments like these that really bothered her, it was unnerving, not being able to stand up for herself, she felt this before, but not with that much magnitude, her thoughts were interrupted by the ginger girl with green eyes.

"Now you wanna say something?". She teased and all the girls started giggling again. Annabeth couldn't take it anymore, she thought about writing some really mean things, but that would only make them laugh even harder, so she mouthed a 'fuck you'.

"Oh, watch your tongue mute girl". The redhaired replied, all the girls were laughing again, this was really messing up the girl's head, she never felt so angry before.

"Yes she's right, you should be careful, I heard that Clarisse is out for you, I think you wouldn't want to get your pretty face bloodened, right?". The blonde's expression was of shock. _How did she know that?_. She asked herself.

"Surprised? I told you, I'm the queen of this school, I know everything that goes on with the life of my subjects, I also know that you've been walking around with the new guy". This territory was getting Annabeth really tense and uncomfortable. _How does she know this stuff?_. The girl said mentally.

"This bitch!". A brown-haired girl with weird red eyes exclaimed.

"Kelli, darling, let's keep things clean, please?". Drew said.

"I'm sorry Drew". She quickly apologized, like she had almost insulted a god.

"Face it mute girl! A weirdo, that always wears a silly scarf like you, is never going to go out with a hottie like him". The ginger said again, normally, Annabeth wouldn't care about their insults, but this one left her unsettled, Drew, like the frightening lion she was, noticed that, and further explored her prey's weakness.

"Ohh". She said like she just saw a lost puppy. "You didn't really think that you had a chance with him, did you? A cute guy like him just walks with someone like you because he pities you darling, you're mute and really not that pretty, there's nothing special about you, soon he'll leave you for someone who is more beautiful and can at least talk to him, like us". Those words took one of the girl's cracks and cracked even more, why, of all things, did that affect her? The girl didn't know the answer, she was waiting for the voice that always made her strong and move on speak something, something that would help her deal with that, the grownups would call that voice 'self-esteem', Annabeth was trying to hold the tears that were forming on the corner of her eyes, she was counting on the voice, but it didn't respond, it was like it was gone, vanished, like it had given up on her, the girl didn't feel like this since her aunt broke the news that her family died and she lost her voice.

"Let's go girls, it looks like this peasant learned her place". Drew said walking past Annabeth, all her other loyal subjects followed her, leaving the girl alone, some of them were laughing and talking crap about her that she couldn't make out. Annabeth ran to the restroom, she was lucky again, she was alone there looking at herself on a mirror, her eyes weren't that puffy, but there was tears streaming down her face, she was asking herself if what those girls said to her was true, was she really worth nothing? Why did she feel so upset when they brought up Percy? Did she have feelings for him? Was that wonderful dream just a cruel joke? The voice wasn't answering, it had become mute too. She locked herself in one of the stalls and started crying even more, she lost her hope of having a normal life again, that someone would see her more than just the poor mute girl that needed comfort, they managed to momentarily break her resolve. Normally, she would be ashamed for crying, but she didn't care, if she had her painkillers with her she could swallow some pills to calm herself down, but she left them in her backpack back on the classroom. After some minutes that felt like forever she came out of the stall and washed her face, she finally built enough determination to face the world again. She made her way to the cafeteria, she found her friends waving to her.

"Where've you been?". Piper asked a little bit insulted that her friend didn't show up earlier, Annabeth didn't want to tell what happened she couldn't let her friends worry about her, she wrote on her notepad with a smile.

" _I was in the bathroom_ ". Piper looked her in the eyes, the native girl could tell that something was wrong, the blonde's eyes were a little red, no one else noticed it but she did, even though she had only known Annabeth for a couple days, she already could tell that the girl wouldn't talk about it.

"So, about the thing that we're doing after class-". Jason was cut off by Leo.

"What thing are you talking about? Why wasn't I invited?". He said.

"It's because you're too annoying". Piper bluntly said.

"What?! So I'm being replaced by her?!". He said pointing his finger at the blonde's face.

"Yeah". both Jason and Piper casually said, Leo's reaction to Annabeth was priceless, she couldn't help but laugh a little, she didn't know if it was something they said or how they said it, but she laughed, and for a moment she forgot that she was crying earlier, she would've never expected that the person that would cheer her up was Leo Valdez, now she got why they kept him as a friend, the guy was funny.

"See? she's laughing, you, you're evil". He looked at her with a very convinced face, Jason and Piper both facepalmed, Annabeth made a face of an evil overmind, like she was planning that all along, the other two kids chuckled, and Leo frantically said.

"See? See?".

 _ **Some time later**_

Class had ended, and once again, all students were leaving to their homes, except for Percy, Jason, Piper and Annabeth. The four kids were about to spy on one of the school's security guards and uncover the mysteries behind the weird conveniences that always saved those big bullies from trouble. Annabeth brought Percy to meet her friends.

"Hi, so you're Percy right? I'm Piper McLean". She said rather too friendly to Jason's taste, the blue-eyed boy couldn't help but feel some jealousy, he felt a little threatened by the boy, he didn't mind about Piper talking to other people, of course not, but she acted too friendly towards that guy, he could tell, Piper was definetly planning something.

"And I'm Jason, Jason Grace". He raised his hand for a handshake, Percy accepted.

"Hi I'm Perseus Jackson, but you can call me Percy". He said with a smile, then Jason tightened his grip around the raven-haired boy's hand, trying to show him that he was still the 'manliest' around, Percy accepted the challenge and tightened his grip as well, some seconds of them shaking their hands awkwardly with a grip stronger than iron and both smiling, so they wouldn't show the crazy pain on their hands to each other, went by until they couldn't take it anymore and broke the handshake, the boys couldn't move their fingers because of the amount of pressure they applied to them, they still had a smile though, agreeing on a draw, both girls didn't get what that long handshake was.

"So?". Jason broke the silence and subtly asked if Percy still thought he could beat him.

"Yeah". Percy answered Jason's hidden question.

"O-kay". Piper awkwardly said, and then changed back to her cheerful tone.

"So Percy, tell us more about yourself, how old are you? where you're from?". She asked him.

"I'm 13 and from New York".

"Really? Annabeth's from there too, you guys have a lot in common, don't you?". The native girl said, the other three were getting a little bit uncomfortable, with Piper's weird attempts of conversation.

"Yeeaah?". Percy awkwardly half-answered, Annabeth had told her about the boy's past already, she knew that Piper was playing dumb, she just couldn't figure out why.

"So let's go over the plan". Jason broke the weirdness. "We'll start out by waiting for the guard to come out of the building, we'll hide behind a tree and wait until he comes out, after that we follow him wherever he goes, and watch each other's backs or else we'll get caught, got it.

"Yeah". Piper answered

"Let's do it!". Percy replied very pumped up, Annabeth nodded her head with a thumbs up.

 ** _8 minutes later_**

"Do you think he's coming out?". Jason asked, they were behind the big tree near the statue, the leaves and branches were swaying with the wind in a harmonical dance, Annabeth wrote on a page of her notepad and showed it to him.

" _He has to_ ". Meanwhile Piper and Percy were sitting and chatting, she was trying to know what his tastes were, she learned that for some reason he loved the color blue, but besides that, she didn't suceed so well, the boy didn't get why she was trying to know him on that level when they just met.

"And would you say you'd choose smarts over looks?".

"What?!". Both boys said in unison, Annabeth had the same look on her face, if she could speak she would've done the same.

"What? Did I say something?". She said like nothing happened, they heard the door opening across the other side from where they were hiding, all of them assumed better positions to spy on the person who came out the building, it was the guard, he was wearing his uniform and scratching his head that had shaved brown hair, he started walking to the right, Jason then turned his head and whispered.

"Remember, watch each other's backs".

"I think it's only you who'll need your back watched". Percy whispered in response.

"Do you think so blueberry?". Jason provoked him too.

"Who are you callin-". He was cut off by Piper who whispered.

"Guys! Now is not the time for that". Annabeth tapped Percy's shoulder, when he turned his head and he looked at her with those beautiful green eyes of his, she felt that sensation of the winds of her dream hugging her, she slightly blushed again. _Don't you dare do that Annabeth Chase_. It was that voice , it was back, Annabeth felt a sly smile forming on the corner of her lips, she welcomed the voice again. Then she signaled to Percy to follow her, he nodded. She crouch walked over the centaur statue and hid behind it, Percy was also crouched behind her, he signaled the others to come, he was watching their backs while the blonde kept an eye out where the guard was going, they took a different path from them, Jason hid behind a tree, Piper was a little bolder, she went further and leaned her back against a trash bin. The guard turned around the main building's corner, he walked a little bit longer and leaned against the wall, he took a cigarette and lighter out of his pocket and started smoking, looking at the sky. The three who fell behind a little compared to Piper, crouch walked next to her, she raised her hand for a high-five everyone accepted slowly doing it as they passed her, not making noise, there were no trees to hide behind nearby, only a bench, Percy, Jason and Annabeth were careful not catch the guard's attention, they were crouched on the bench hidind behind it's seat back, they were lucky that the benches around school had very little space between the boards, so it was easy to not notice if someone was hiding behind it, but if you could pay more attention, it would be easy to spot the kids, that's why they had to be very quiet. After the guard puffed some smoke he started singing slowly and in a very deep voice.

"The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire, we don't need no water let the motherfucker burn, burn motherfucker, burn". He sang the last burn very menancingly, whatever the name of this song was, Annabeth really didn't feel like adding to her playlist. Piper didn't need to follow them, she was on a perfect spot where she could watch the guard and not be concealed, Jason waved to her, she waved back, some seconds of them waiting for something to happen went by, Percy wasn't sure if something was really going to happen, he just wanted to go out, suddenly, they heard footsteps, it was a man wearing a suit carrying two paper bags, he didn't look like he was a business man because he was wearing one of those chauffeur hats, maybe he was the guard's friend, it didn't matter, the kids would have to not let him notice anything weird, Percy, Jason and Annabeth changed position, they were laying down on the bench, the blonde was in the middle she was feeling squashed by the two boys, she was facing Jason in the eyes, his expression told her that everything would be okay, Piper's situation however, was far more complicated, the tree was too far away, she would be caught if she tried to go over there, the same would happen if she did not think fast, she looked inside the trash bin, it looked like she could fit in it. _WHYYYY?!_. She mentally whined and quicly jumped in the bin without making noise or being noticed. The chauffeur approached the guard and handed one of the bags to him.

"I've got to hand it to you, you do your job very well Mr. Procrustes". He said with a smile.

"Hmph". The man with shaved hair man responded as he took the bag and checked the insides, whatever it was, the kids were sure it wasn't a meatball sandwich.

"And here's my employer's contribution to the school, he thanks the good job you and your colleagues are doing". The man handed the other bag, this time the guard didn't bother to look inside, he puffed some smoke.

"You're welcome, tell the Ta-". He was cut off by the chauffeur.

"We don't say their names out loud". The guard sighed.

"You've been watching too many movies, relax".

"It never hurts to be cautious, you'd do well to remember that". The kids wished that this chauffeur would be less careful, they would love to hear the names of the people behind this.

"Hmph, anyways, tell your employers that they should be more careful with their actions, you were lucky there was only one witness". All the kids froze, were they talking about Annabeth? She was trying to keep her calm.

"Should we be concerned?". The man in the suit asked.

"No, she's new around, give it time". The guard replied, the chauffeur seemed satisfied with the conversation and raised his hand for a handshake, the guard dropped his cigarette, putting it out by stomping it.

"It's a pleasure for us to colaborate and invest on the school". He said like he was in one of those commercials, the guard, however, was not fooled by it and just walked away, entering the main building again, the chauffeur, displeased by the gesture, went to the direction of the parking lot. After the students felt that no one else was around, they came out of their hiding spot, Annabeth was relieved that she finally got some space, she felt like a sandwich, between the two boy, Piper, on the other hand, didn't look so well, she was shaking, like she was traumatized for being so long inside the trash bin, she was smelling like dried old soda, there was a piece of chewed bubblegum stuck in one of the feathers that were tangled on her hair, and her shoes were dirty with some kind of brown paste that she really hoped was peanut butter.

"I'm not doing this EVER again". It was all she could manage to say.

"You want me to give you a ride home?". Jason said trying to comfort the girl in shock, she just nodded.

"Yeah, you're not looking so hot". Percy added, the native girl glared at him, her eyes told him, 'shut up or I'll chop off your head with a tomahawk'. "I mean, not that you look, umm". He tried to explain himself, Annabeth wasn't paying attention to their conversation, she was too busy thinking about what just happened, trying to answer the questions that were raised by that encounter, they were talking about her, was all of the school staff involved? Did Chiron know about this? What did this guy gain from bribing the guard? And the most important question of all, who was behind all this? Her thoughts were interrupted by Jason.

"So, what you guys think?".

"What do we think?! Isn't it obvious? That guy just straight up bribed him for something". Percy answered, Annabeth started writing on her notepad.

"Yeah, that looked very shady". Piper agreed, the mute girl showed her notepad trying to get everyone's attention.

" _That guy said he was contributing to the school, what do you know about donations here?_ ". Piper and Jason started thinking until the native girl spoke.

"After the school lost Olympus Corp's funding they've been accepting this kind of thing". That seemed to trigger something in the blue-eyed boy.

"Yeah, I remember that, rich people can make big donations in exchange for a little bit of publicity". Annabeth wrote.

" _Is the donation made directly to the school?_ ".

"I guess so, why?". He responded, the blond girl gestured them to wait a little bit, it would take a while to write her train of thought, she was writing as fast as she could to not keep them waiting, they didn't care though, they were her friends, they felt like they could wait for all eternity to read what she wanted to tell them.

" _Because if the donation was made directly to the school, they would have to possess some kind of documentation, right? We could then find the name of the guys we are after, of course, we would have to check these papers and see if there's something different from the other donations, I think that bribing the entire school's staff would be very expensive, Jason, why don't you call the school and ask more about this program, perhaps even find out where they would be keeping these papers_ ". They all took a while to read.

"Look at you go wise girl". _Damm right_. A voice inside her head answered, she tried not to show it, but she liked being complimented about her smarts, a sly smile formed on her lips.

"Yeah, all that makes sense but, why me?". Jason asked, the girl started writing.

"Why? Afraid of the phone lady?". Percy teased, Piper chuckled a bit, the boy just grunted.

" _You're the son of Olympus Corp's owner, it would make sense for you to make a call like that, help us keep a low profile_ ". She showed him. Sometimes, Jason wouldn't like when people tried to take advantage of his position, but this time, he felt important, like he coould really could help his friends.

"Yeah, sure if you all need me that bad". He said full of himself, the 13 year olds rolled their eyes. "I'll see what I can find and then we discuss our next move tomorrow, let's go Piper".

"See you guys tomorrow". The stinking girl waved as she walked away with Jason, Percy and Annabeth did the same.

"Nice friends you've got, I like them". The raven-haired boy spoke with a warm smile, Annabeth also nodded with a smile, she liked havin Percy join their team she didn't know why she wanted to be friends with him, and for once the voice didn't question her decision and feelings. "So, know you teach me how to use this thing?". He was holding his cellphone in front of her, she nodded with a smile, and started walking home. The team already made their first move aginst the intrigue, the game was on, this writer just hopes they are ready to face the challenges ahead.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Notes**

 **A new chapter in less than a week? say whaaa? Sorry for keeping it short, but, plotwise, it had to be done, if went any further than that this chapter would end up with like 6.000-7.000 words, and I would only finish it next week, I think nobody wants that, so trust me, it's better this way.**

 **Sci-fi Girl:** **Thanks so much for the review, it's awesome to know that people are liking the story, it gets me pumped to write it. I do agree with your point about the summary, it really looks that I didn't a good job at it ( I'll admit it, it sucks), but here's the thing, I'm horrible at making it attractive without giving away too much of the plot, could you kindly send me a new one to my inbox? Pretty plz :-}. Enjoy the chapter.**

 **I do not own the rights to Percy Jackson and the Olympians' characters, those belong to Rick Riordan.**

 _ **Chapter 9**_

Annabeth unlocked the front door with her keys, and both kids entered the house. Percy was looking around, he liked the place, it looked nice to him, Annabeth was scribbling some words on her notepad, she looked up, her gaze focused on the distracted boy, she was admiring him, the girl wondered what was he thinking of her home. _Annabeth_. The voice brought her back to the moment, she then showed him what she wrote.

" _I'm going upstairs to drop my backpack, there's some soda in the fridge if you're thirsty_ ".

"Okay, make yourself at home I guess?". He sarcastically replied, the girl chuckled a little, again, that silent chuckle he loved. She went upstairs on the wooden spiral staircase, leaving Percy alone in the living room. The boy was thirsty so he decided to check out that soda she mentioned, he found his way into the kitchen, he looked at the sink, there was some plates stacked on a little pile. _I hope it's her parents that do the chores around here_. He said mentally, Percy would hate to know if the girl spent most of her time alone in her home like him, he particularly cared for her, he didn't know why. He then remembered what he was doing at the kitchen. _Soda_. he opened the fridge, it was kind of empty. _Let's see, chocolate syrup, egg carton, soda!_. He grabbed the plastic bottle and poured some of the orange, fizzy, tasty goodness in a glass, he liked orange soda, the only thing that could make it better was if its color was blue, he started drinking the thing until he let out a small burp, he could do that because no one else was around. He put the bottle back in the fridge and went back to the living room explore, he started looking for anything related to that girl's family, but he didn't find any pictures, indicating something about her personal life. Suddenly he heard a noise coming from upstairs, similar to a thump, and then another and another, it seemed that Annabeth was struggling with something. Worried, Percy ran upstairs to help her out and see if she was ok, he saw an open door to a room at the end of the corridor, possibly where she'd be, when he got there he saw the girl shaking, cornered against a wall, her face expressing fear.

"What happened?". He asked concerned, what could make the girl be acting like that? Annabeth immediately got up and hid behind the raven-haired boy, pointing at the drawer, Percy didn't see anything. "Are you ok?". He looked behind his shoulder at her face, the blonde left her notepad at the living room, communication was going to be a hard thing to establish. She slowly walked towards the drawer, hiding behind him of course, from the monster that was on the drawer, threatening her very life, as Percy got closer, he saw what was the thing the girl was so afraid of, a little cellar spider. Annabeth, maker of plans, spy of the school's staff, hater of bullies, non-speaker of words, survivor of her family's murder, afraid of little spiders, an almost spotless record for a superhero. The green-eyed boy tried very hard not to laugh, Annabeth noticed that and kicked his shin, so he wouldn't have any ideas.

"Ow, ok, ok! What you want me to do with it?". He asked while rubbing the spot where she kicked, he had to admit, she had one mean kick. She just shrugged, she didn't care, she just wanted that eight-legged thing out of her sight. Percy casually walked to the window and opened it, he then flicked the poor arachnid out of her room through the window, he felt a little bad for the little guy, he wasn't sure if that thing could even bite. He looked back at the girl, who was now recomposing herself trying to make it look like nothing abnormal happened, Percy was not falling for it. She grabbed a notebook and a pencil inside her backpack and wrote.

" _I HATE those things, too many legs you know_ ". The boy held a laugh.

"Sure". The girl was so embarassed for overreacting like that, she wanted to hide under her bed forever, but spiders simply terrified her. When she was little, she would have nightmares about them coming down from her ceiling while she slept, she would often awake her parents and ask to sleep with them, they would of course be annoyed by it, but who could say no to a scared six years old blond girl with grey eyes.

" _Please don't tell anyone_ ". She held the notebook in front of him.

"My lips are sealed, don't worry". He chuckled. "Cozy room you got here". He half-joked about the lack of furniture of the bedroom, even though Percy also moved recently, his room was better than that. Annabeth didn't mind, even if the room looked empty, it got everything she needed.

" _I moved here not so long ago, there wasn't time to furnish it_ ". She tried to explain, she then gestured him to follow her downstairs, they both casually walked over to the couches and layed on them. Annabeth placed her cellphone on top of the coffe table, she looked at him, asking to do the same, the boy obeyed.

"Aren't you gonna take this thing off?". He pointed at her scarf, she immediately shook her head, of all the people, he was the last person she would want to show her scar to. "Okay then". Percy felt a little curious about what the girl was trying to hide, but if she wasn't willing to answer he wouldn't ask, she was writing some instructions on her notepad.

 _ **Some time later**_

Annabeth tried to explain him all the basics, there was a lot for him to learn yet, but she'd say that he got a C+. She liked his company, it was funny trying to teach someone how to use a smartphone. Two plates with waffle crumbs were scattered along with a bottle of orange soda, they've spent some good time together. After they finished the blonde wrote on the last page of her notepad.

" _Can you give me your number?_ ".

"I don't know my number, is there somewhere I can check it?". He was clicking everything on his phone.

" _Just call me '555-0167'_ ". The boy obeyed and dialed her number, her cellphone started playing an indie song that Percy didn't know its name, the girl touched some things on the screen and saved his number, suddenly, someone knocked at the door.

"Annabeth, are you there? It's Mellie!". _Oh crap_. Annabeth cursed mentally, knowing her, Mellie would flip out if she saw a boy with the girl alone on her house, she grabbed his backpack and quickly gave it to him, she gestured him to go away, to hide somewhere, the green-eyed boy got her message.

"Where?". He whispered, the blonde pointed upstairs, he immediately rushed to the spiral staircase.

"I'm coming in!". Annabeth heard the front door unlocking, she looked back and saw the short brown-haired woman with a smile on her face, the girl looked at her as if she was asking 'what are you doing here?'. "I had some paperwork to do, and then an idea passed trough my head, 'hey why don't I come over to Ms. Athena's house, do all that there and keep company to her niece', and so here I am". Normally, the blonde would appreciate the thought, but there couldn't be a more inconvenient time the assistant could pick to drop by.

"Now, let's see if you did your chores". The woman walked to the kitchen, Annabeth took this chance to hide the plates laying on the coffe table, she didn't know where to put them, she quickly analyzed the room and then looked under the sofa. _Better than nothing_.

"Aaaah". The blonde was startled by the woman's terrified shriek, she almost dropped the plates by accident, she heard Mellie walking towards her, Annabeth managed to hide the plates.

"You still haven't washed the dishes?! Don't you know how UNHYGIENIC it is to keep the dishes dirty like that all day?!". The brown-haired said 'unhygienic' like if it was a dirty word, Annabeth tried not to get too much into her obsession.

"Let's see your room". After the girl heard that sentence she flew upstairs, trying to delay her as much as possible, the woman wanted to enter the room but Annabeth was on the way.

"Annabeth let me enter your room". They both struggled for some time, and then Mellie finally opened the door, only to find a normal room with an open window and the curtains gently swaying with the wind.

"Geez, what was that scene all about?". Mellie then walked out of the room, leaving Annabeth alone, she couldn't help herself, a smile formed on her lips, it was like she just saw a magic trick. She leaned against the window and looked outside, the sun was setting, painting the streets with gold, the wind coming from the docks made her hair do the same movement of the white curtains, the green-eyed boy was looking at her, also with a smile, she then waved him goodbye, he did the same and started walking to his home, leaving the assistant oblivious to the boy's presence.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's notes**

 **Oh-my-god, why did it took so long? Damn, I didn't even finish the whole thing, yup I'm kinda breaking the chapter here into other parts (told you that thing would be big). So far, this is the most difficult chapter I've written. I had no clue on how to start, I was lacking inspiration for the first half of this one. For two days I went trough my playlist on my phone for some inspiration when then I stumbled into this song A Kind of Magic by Queen, and when I started hearing it the image of- you know what? read it to find out. Also, Deadpool, have you guys seen it? HOLY SHIT, what a fucked up good movie. Ten bucks to the person who gets the Ryan Reynolds reference on this one.**

 **Sci-fi Girl** **\- Thanks for replying :D, I'm waiting for the summary. Enough already, to the chapter.**

 **I do not own the rights to Percy Jackson and the Olympians' characters, Rick Riordan does.**

 _ **Chapter 10**_

 _It's a kind of magic_

Piper woke up on the cloudy morning to the sound of her alarm on her cellphone.

 _It's a kind of magic_

She got up from her bed and yawned.

 _A kind of magic_

 _There is no way_

Piper slowly started to change her clothes, obeying to the rhythm of the song.

 _One dream_

 _One soul_

She put on a beige long-sleeve T-shirt with a white U.S. star stamped on it and her black jeans.

 _One prize_

 _One goal_

She was putting her trekking boots she liked to wear.

 _One golden glance_

 _Of what should be_

 _It's a kind of magic_

 _One shaft_

 _Of light_

The native girl went to the bathroom with her cellphone, all the while shaking her head side to side, her braids following the movement and the rhythm of the song.

 _That shows the way_

 _No mortal man_

 _Can win this day_

She was looking at herself on the mirror, carefully placing her usual white hawk feathers on her braids.

 _It's a kind of magic_

 _The bell that rings_

 _Inside your mind_

She got out of the bathroom dancing to the song, which basically consisted of her doing the running man.

 _Is challenging_

 _The doors of time_

If you were there to see this, there were two things you might have done, one was to dance along with her with her corny dance moves, and the other, and much more likely to happen, was you recording that scene on your phone to post it on youtube.

 _The waiting seems_

She entered the kitchen, not noticing that her dad was there, sitting on the table, watching her like she was a lunatic, if he heard what song was on he would understand (it was he who introduced Queen to Piper), but she had headphones on.

 _Eternity_

 _The day will dawn_

She was ready to do another dance pose when she saw her dad sitting on the table looking at her, his hand covering his mouth trying to hold the laugh, she immediately paused the song and started walking like nothing happened.

"Didn't expect you to be here". She tried to change the subject and just forget about her morning, silly, wake-up dance from earlier.

"I wanted to surprise you, and I'm sure glad I did it!". He laughed, the girl blushed, embarassed for letting her dad see what she was doing. Normally, her father would be at the hunting lodge getting every item ready for when he opened the shop while the girl had her breakfast and got ready for school. "I think Fleecy would like to hear about it too". Fleecy was Tristan's sister, Piper's aunt, she also worked selling hunting supplies and tours but on another area of, what was previously, the Cherokee reserve.

"Oh I'm sure she would, I also think that she would love to know about that moose who stole your clothes while you were taking a bath on the river and had to come back home-".

"Alright, alright I get it". The brown-haired man cut off. Piper had beat him on his own game. He was trying to forget the image of him having to walk naked using a pine branch to cover his junk trough the woods until he got home. "So, how d'you sleep?". He took a sip of coffe from his _#1 boss_ mug, the 'boss' was crossed out with a sharpie, a little arrow that came out of it pointed to a handwritten 'dad', that year they were out of _#1 dad_ mugs.

"Great actually, and you?". She cheerfully answered.

"Meh, didn't sleep so much, spent most of the night organizing some bills tha-".

"Boring!". She interrupted, Tristan held a chuckle.

"Don't worry, you'll get there someday". He tried to say but the girl didn't look like she was paying much attention.

"Wait, d'you hear that?". She spoke, breaking the man's train of thought.

"What?". He asked.

"An old geezer saying that I'll get boring like that". She provoked, her dad made an insulted expression.

"Why you little-". He stopped before he could say something the MPAA would definetly censor, the girl nearly laughed her ass off. Piper was something you would call a free spirit, she lived in the moment and worried about the consequences later, she hated the thought of getting old and be mature and boring.

 _ **Some time later**_

They were in front of the school, Tristan was dropping his daughter.

"I'll be away for the afternoon, I'll be back at night, there's some leftovers for you on the fridge". He said.

"I love you". She was going to get out of the car, but her father stopped her.

"And don't forget to wash the dishes".

"'Kay, love you". She said with some annoyance on her voice, she got off the car.

"And to take out the trash".

"Does 'I love you' mean anything to you?!". She asked a little bit insulted, Tristan chuckled.

"Bye". He drove away, Piper sighed, she loved her dad, but sometimes. She then felt someone tapping her shoulder, she turned her head to see Annabeth standing there with a smile, the blond girl waved her hand trying to say 'hi'.

"Hey Annie, how's going?". Piper greeted her, the girl wrote on her notepad.

" _Please don't call me that_ ". 'Annie' was how she was called by the annoying brats on her previous school, her little brothers also adopted that nickname. Even though they were only three year olds, Annabeth could swear they only did that to annoy her.

"You sure Annie?". The brown-haired girl giggled, the blonde just glared at her annoyed, Piper was lucky that she was a very good friend, or else she would experience one of the special shin kicks that Percy got twice now, they started making their way to the classroom. "Hey, so where's your boyfriend?". _That's it!_. A murderous voice screamed inside of Annabeth's mind, the pain on Piper's shin was real, she was jumping on one leg while rubbing the other.

"Ow, you little-". There was a smirk on Annabeth's face, after the pain went away Piper asked. "But seriously, where is he?". The blonde stopped, it took some time to write the sentence, once she did she showed Piper the notepad.

" _He said he was gonna look for Jason and see what he found out about what we said yesterday_ ".

"Well, I hope he got something for us, or else it will be very hard for us to get a lead of where to look". The brown-haired girl hopefully said, Annabeth nodded agreeing with her. They went inside the building and started to make their way to the classroom, they were walking down the corridor while Piper talked about Half-Blood Park, the park where she and her dad lived, about the pinetrees that towered the place, the relaxing feel, Annabeth was getting some things inside her locker. "You know, you should come over sometime, who knows? We can even have a sleepover".

Annabeth was never invited to a sleepover before, the other kids back at her old school didn't really like her, she didn't care too much, the feeling was mutual. But still, she kinda envied that, having a friend like Piper. _I'm almost making it look like my family's death was a good thing_. She thought. Annabeth was actually curious about the Park, she loved the idea, so she nodded her head with an excited smile.

"Alright, you and I gotta sit together and talk about it then". Piper said, Annabeth nodded again in agreement. They continued going down the corridor full of people and lockers, until Annabeth stopped, her face showed some discomfort to keep on walking, Drew and her group of evil succubi, also known as the popular girls of Goode Senior and Junior High, were standing next to both girls' classroom door. Piper looked at her friend to see what was wrong, the leader of the barbies approached them, the pack followed, Annabeth looked down at her own shoes pretending that she didn't see Drew coming, pretending that her own existence was false. After their second encounter, she kinda feared those girls. _Maybe because they're right in some way_. She thought. At first the blonde didn't know why she was so upset when Drew said those things about Percy only pitying her, but yesterday, after he climbed down her window and she looked him in the eyes, she've read enough books to know what that feeling was, the butterflies on her tummy, the stupid smile she couldn't wipe off her face no matter how hard she tried, the euphoria of looking at him, no words can describe it, save one, one that this writer does not fell like writing, because he knows that you are smart enough and already know.

"Pocahontas, mute girl, darlings, how are you two doing?". Drew spoke, some of the girls behind her giggled, while others gave smirks trying to intimidate them.

"Drew we both don't have time for this, so just let me ask you, what do you want?". Piper replied to her comment a little bit tired and annoyed.

"I agree, I'm just here to ask you a question... tell me, how do two freaks, like you girls, manage two hang around with two hot demigods, like Jason and Percy, for so long? Please don't tell me you are making offerings to one of your 'ancestors' and putting charms on them". She did air quotes, enphasizing on the 'ancestors' to taunt Piper, the girls following Drew giggled.

"That's like so true". One of them said in a cringeworthy kind of tone. The native girl only sighed and shook her head with disappointment, Drew was trying again to undermine her confidence so she could get her plastic hands on Jason again, she would not let that go by so easily though.

"Well I don't know, maybe it's because we are actually nice and not sickening like you, or maybe they just caught a glimpse of you and your girls without makeup... I mean, if I saw some iguanas wearing clothes and walking on two legs, I'd probably keep my distance". The girl with multi-colored eyes replied. That got some of the girls holding their breaths, everyone that was on the corridor was now watching them, Annabeth had her jaw almost dropped, that was amazing, the redhaired girl with green eyes looked very angry and tried to walk over to the girls while saying.

"Look here you two pig-faced-".

"Rachel". Drew cut her off and placed her arm in front of the steaming girl, signaling her to not give in that filthy peasant's comment. Rachel reluctantly obeyed her. "Look Piper, darling, I don't think you are understanding what I'm trying to tell you here... When a queen asks you to get out of the way, you GET the fuck out of her way". Her tone made her look like she was teaching an eight year old. The other girls made intimidating looks to Piper, the native girl couldn't help but chuckle.

"Oh, ye, okay Drew". She said massaging her forehead. "This is, that's what I'm talking about, I'm gonna tell you exactly how it is, you seem like a pretty, innocent, junior high student on the outside, but on the inside... on the inside, you're like this, this, this... seething... demon!". Piper said gesturing her hands, trying to find the right words to describe how she felt, she then looked Drew on the eyes and said. "Why don't you go suck a hot cock?". Everyone in the corridor dropped their jaws, some held their breaths in astonishment. "Yeah". She confirmed that she just had actually said that, there was no response from the girls in front of her, no student there could ever expect someone bringing it down on the self-proclaimed queen of the school, Annabeth was amazed by her friend's response, she rocked. Piper looked around and stated shouting so everyone in the corridor could hear. "THAT'S RIGHT EVERYONE! I JUST TOLD DREW TANAKA TO SUCK A HOT COCK!".

"Yeah we heard it". Jason said chuckling as he and Percy came out, walking slowly towards the two girls and settle that argument.

"Jason, good that you're here darling, could you please tell this ranting piece of... work, to watch her mouth?". Her voice was so sugary and fake, that it made the other two girls want to vomit. The girls who were following Drew made pretty faces, to look like they were the victims.

"Well, it is a free country". The blue-eyed boy stated.

"And she straightup kicked your ass". Percy quickly followed, Piper raised her hand asking for the raven-haired boy to high-five her, he gladly accepted, that gesture made Drew twitch very slightly, no one saw it however, she was an expert on not showing weakness.

"I'll let that pass since I'm on a good mood". She started to walk away, it seemed that she and her friends were going to skip class today. "But don't worry my darlings". She said looking at both girls, her eyes with a scary darkness that was hidden to everyone but Piper and Annabeth. "A queen gets what she wants, one way or another". And with that she and her pack walked away from the four. Annabeth didn't want to admit but she was kind of scared of what that threat could mean, she hoped that it was only empty words.

"I can't believe I was friends with that girl once!". Piper spoke a little stressed out.

"It's good that you came to the light side of the force then". Jason said.

"Tell me about it". She answered, back in elementary school, Piper was once a part of those bullies, until she saw how horrible she was becoming, just like the mother who abandoned her and her father. Her withdrawal from the group was viewed as treason, those girls who she called friends started bullying her too, but she didn't care, she became friends with Leo who couldn't believe that one of the 'barbienators', as he called them, had become nice, he later introduced her to Jason who Drew and the other girls all had a crush with.

Jason, Piper, Annabeth and Percy headed inside the classroom, the raven-haired boy was analyzing the mute who seemed to be avoiding eye contact, she was doing that because she didn't want to blush in front of him.

"Hey, are you okay?". He asked concerned, Percy didn't have anything that he cared about, except for her, if someone hurt her in any way, he didn't want to know about the consequences, he would make them pay. She quickly nodded so he wouldn't worry too much, all the while trying not to blush. _C'mon Annabeth, you can do it!_. She thought. "Are you blushing?". _Dammit_.

 _ **Some minutes later**_

They were all in a corner of the classroom, ready to discuss about what Jason had found out.

"So tell'em Jason, what you told me". Percy started.

"Yup, so listen up... I called yesterday and asked if the donations could be made by a family, the lady said yes, but she didn't recall anyone besides local companies doing that, it looks like Leneus is responsible for the paperwork regarding them, but he always delivers the documents to Chiron, I would think that Chiron keeps them at his office".

"Leneus, huh?". Piper stated.

"My opinion is that he already gave the papers to Chiron". Percy answered, hoping that the documents would be somewhere around the principal's office.

"I agree with Percy". Jason spoke.

"Me too". The native girl said, Annabeth nodded, it made sense, she then wrote, calling everyone's attention.

" _So, any way to sneak in his office and take a look at the papers?_ ". The kids started thinking.

"No, Mrs Dodds would be working on the reception, she would definetly spot us if we tried to do it, and she works until night there". Piper said

"We wait 'till night after she goes away then". Percy suggested.

"What?! No way! What would I tell my dad? 'Hey dad I'm gonna be away untill night because I've got to break in the principal's office to check some documents from school that I can't see', besides, the door to the office would be locked by then". The girl with feathers tangled on her braids answered the boy's crazy plan, Annabeth nodded in agreement, she was trying to think of a way, but she still didn't know about the school much, she haven't been in the second floor yet, let alone Chiron's office.

"Then what the hell do you think we do then?!". Percy complained, Jason who had been very quiet finally spoke, giving a half-answer, half-suggestion.

"Window?". That idea seemed crazy, to break in from the window? The office was on the second floor, they would have to climb up if they wished to do it that way, but to Annabeth, it didn't look like that bad of an idea, she started scribbling down some words.

"Seriously Jason? Window?". The native girl asked.

" _Can a ladder reach it?_ ". After Piper read that, she said.

"Annabeth, you are not really thinking about going through the window that's on the second floor, are you?". Some worry on her voice.

"I'd think so". Jason answered not paying attention to Piper's worry.

"I don't even need a ladder to reach it". Percy said trying to impress Annabeth, he felt the need to do that for some reason.

"We'll have a safety net for you then, blueberry". Jason provoked, Percy was going to say something but before he could, Annabeth showed what she'd written on her notepad.

" _I'll check the window from outside the building at lunch and see what we can do_ ". Their conversation was interrupted by the teacher who entered class.

 _ **Some hours later**_

It was time for everyone to go lunch, Percy, Jason and Piper approached Annabeth.

"Do you want any help with checking the window?". Percy offered, the blonde shook her head, she could do this by herself and didn't want to bother anyone to do this boring job.

"You sure?". Piper asked, Annabeth nodded her head. _C'mon Annie, I can't help you if you don't help me_. The native girl said mentally, she was trying really hard to get the two New Yorkers together, but those two were dumb mules that didn't realize that they are perfect together.

"You really sure?". She insisted again, and Annabeth nodded. Her three friends were getting kind of awkward. _Oh my god Annabeth!_. An annoyed voice said on her mind, it was very discouraging for her, she actually didn't know if the two had the slightest amount of feelings for each other, but she could feel it in her soul, it was like knowing the answer but not really, not really knowing how to explain the answer, it's just because it is, she could feel that they were meant for each other, she just had to nourish those feelings in them, to make them realize that. "Percy could keep you company, I mean, Clarisse is out for you". The mute girl shuddered at the thought, she wouldn't have a chance if those bullies caught her alone.

"What? What do you mean by that?". The green-eyed boy asked concerned. _What the hell does she mean by saying that ogre is out for her?_. He thought, Percy would never let that sorry excuse of a person called Clarisse hurt someone as important as Annabeth. He cared about that girl a lot, she was the one who made him feel normal, that he had a chance. He never could understand that concept, that feeling, of having a shot, a chance in life, and he had to admit he loved that feeling. She made him forget about his mother, his father, his crappy life from before, she was the thing that kept him going forward, the thing that made him curious and excited, happy and anxious, the thing that made him ask 'so, what's next?'. _I think I smell gold here_. Piper thought, giving a mental high-five for hitting the mark on that one.

"Didn't you know? Annabeth tri-". The grey-eyed girl's hand instinctively shut Piper's mouth. _What are you trying to do Piper?!_. Annabeth said mentally, if Percy knew about Clarisse going after her because she tried to snitch her, he would end up doing something stupid, she didn't have to be a genius to understand that. Percy getting beat up by the big bullies because of her was the last thing she wanted. She quicly wrote on her notepad before Piper could do something stupid like that again.

" _D_ _o you want to come with me?_ ". She showed the note, trying to change the subject, the boy slowly nodded his head a little suspicious of what was going on, of what he felt they weren't telling him.

"Meet you guys later then". Jason finally spoke. "We'll be at the cafeteria". Annabeth and Percy exited the room and headed to the main hall, Piper was going to the same but she felt someone grabbing her arm gently, not letting her get out of the room, she turned her head to see Jason with a serious expression.

"Pipes... we gotta talk". He calmly said.

"O-kay". She akwardly answered, trying to think of a reason for this conversation.

"What are you hiding here?".

"What?!". She half-asked. _What is he talking about?_. She thought, asking her what she was hiding? What kind of question was that? It was not like Jason to ask something that way with that kind of tone, unbeknownst to her, Jason had his fair share of these kind of conversations with his sister. He would ask on that same tone if she was getting high again, where was she the whole afternoon, she would lie of course, but deep down he already knew the answer, which then added to his second skill, know when people were lying.

"You know what I'm talking about, the weird conversation with Percy that made you look like a stalker, pratically forcing him and Annabeth to spend time together, and now, almost telling him that she's on Clarisse's hitlist?! What are you going for here?". He spoke, this weird situation made him go slightly nuts for some time now, he couldn't let this keep going, part of it was because he was jealous, he didn't want to admit it though, telling this to the girl, whom he had some feelings for, would make him look stupid. _Oh, that_. Piper thought, she sighed, trying to figure out a way to get out of that topic.

"Look Jason, it's complicated". That got Jason unsettled, why didn't she trust him? That feeling of jealousy got to him again, but he didn't let that show.

"Piper don't give me that, I don't think I deserve it". That comment made the girl feel bad for not telling him, it felt like a heavy pain on her heart, like it just ate a really bad burrito. He was one of her best friends, no, not just friends, he understood her so well just like her father. He always treated her fairly, he never hid something from her and tried to help her out by being her friend when no one else on elementary school would. He was more than a friend, something more, she didn't know what though. But would it be okay to tell him, that she had kind of a strange obsession with matchmaking? Would he make fun of her for it? She knew that she would. _Fuck it_. Something on her mind snapped, she then finally spoke.

"Just promise that you won't laugh at this".

"Make fun of you? Pipes I...". He stopped before he could say the other two magic words that would make that drama even more akward. "You're the best person I know". _Nice escape Jason, smooth_. He mentally told himself.

"Oh, thanks". She replied with a smile. "And NEVER, EVER, tell this to Leo".

"I thought that when you asked me not to laugh, not telling Leo was already included". Piper chuckled at the sarcasm.

"Alright, umm, I'm... I like...". Jason was already assuming the worse. _Please don't say Percy, please don't say Percy, please don't say Percy_. He kept saying this in his head like a mantra. "I like matchmaking, okay? That's right, fuck you, I like shipping people together". _She likes Per-, wai' what? She doesn't?_. A voice spoke in his mind surprised. For a moment, there was this overwhelming feeling of relief, it was like he held his bladder for a hundred years and now, he finally could let all of that concern and paranoia out, but then, he started to realize what the girl had just said. _Matchmaking?_. He tried to hold his laugh, but as each brief moment passed his task got harder and harder, until he couldn't control it anymore. The sound of his laughter filled the empty room, Piper blushed a little, embarassed for having that kind of passion.

"You?! *laughs* You can't be serious *laughs* right? Matchmaking?". It was so funny to hear something like that coming from her. But it wasn't a shock, one of the things that he found most atractive on her was this kind of quality, she saw the best on people and tried to bring it out of them. So when someone said that she wanted people coming together and loving each other and having the best of what life could offer, he wasn't going to feel surprised, but he had to admit, it sounded hillarious coming from the girl who talked crap about the Twilight movies and other franchises of the unreal love genre.

"C'mon! You promised that you wouldn't laugh!". She tried punching him on the shoulder, but he defended himself, she instead hit his arm.

"I'm sor- *laughs*, I'm sorry". He apologized and took a breath from all the laughing that involuntarily came out.

"You better be". She said with her arms crossed, some moments of silence went by and they started to go to make their way to the cafeteria.

"Whoa, so you're trying to make them date each other?". He asked.

"Yeah, but those two are hard". She answered.

"Guess so, and which one of them confessed to you their feelings?". Piper was thinking of an answer.

"Umm, none of them".

"What?! So you don't know if they even like each other?!". He said with a mix of disturbance and confusion.

"I mean, it's not like that, I know that they have feelings, they just don't know it yet". She said with some calm on her voice. The two kids were crossing the main hall, which had other students in groups chatting, laughing together and sharing their lunches, it looked like everyone in there was a big family.

"And how would you know that?".

"Look, there are some things that I just know okay? And you gotta hand it to them, they look perfect together". They got closer and closer to the entrance of the cafeteria, the pale light that came out of the glass dome ceiling was lighting the whole place. It was cloudy that day, it could start raining anytime soon.

"So, your whole argument is that they look good together?". He asked.

"When I get them dating each other you'll see what I'm talking about". She said a slightly annoyed by his comment, it felt like he doubted her amazing, not-so-real skills. They entered the cafeteria, a lot of people were there having their lunch, minding their own business, some teachers were there too with the students to socialize and help them with their respective subjects, Apollo could be seen juggling some apples and at the same time singing some pop song from the 90's while a group of kids and Gleeson Hedge encouraged him, Hera was looking disaprovingly at the rookie teacher.

"Sure Pipes, what I'm trying to say is that you should be careful when messing around with these kind of emotions".

"Don't worry, I got everythin-". She was cut off by a blonde girl with braces and glasses.

"Hey Piper! Can I just say how awesome you were back at the corridor when you totally kicked Drew's ass? You basically defined what we all feel". The native girl scratched the back of her neck and spoke a little bit weirded out.

"Umm, thanks Lacy?".

"There's some people who recorded your argument with them, it's going viral here, you should see how those girls are reacting, here let me show the video to you". Lacy said as she took her Iphone out of her pocket, Piper placed her hand over the screen.

"Best... not". She stated. Even though she liked how the girl was 'complimenting' her, she preferred not to watch the whole situation again.

"Oh okay... hey, do you wanna sit with me and my friends? They would totally love talking to you".

"Uhhh". Was all she could manage to say, that definetly got her by surprise, Jason was holding a chuckle, Piper now got a fanclub. She looked back to him, her face asked him a mixture of 'if it was ok for her to join them', 'should I go?' and 'what the hell is happening right now?'. He honestly didn't know what to say so he just shrugged with his charecteristic smile. She looked back at the girl with braces who was anxiously waiting for her answer. "S-sure". She said.

"YES!". Lacy celebrated, excited by the brown-haired girl's answer, Piper kind of started regretting it. "You'll see how cool they are". She grabbed the girl's arm and started walking over to her table.

"I'll be with Leo!". Jason hollered, Piper gave a thumbs up in response. The blond boy started walking to their group's usual spot, he then finally spotted Leo standing. "Sup bro?". Jason greeted.

"Hey". The hispanic boy answered.

"C'mon, let's find somewhere to sit". He said looking for an empty table for them.

"Sitting with you?! After you and Piper replaced me by the blondie and that other guy?! No way!". Leo spoke with a dramatic tone. _Does he really mean that?_. Jason asked mentally, he recognized that Piper and him have been treating like he wasn't part of the group anymore, he didn't explain why were they hanging around with Percy and Annabeth so much.

"Look dude, I'm sorry if you're feeling left out and I-". He started apologizing, but then he was cut off.

"SIKE!". Leo abruptly spoke and started laughing, Jason facepalmed for falling for that, typical Leo.

"Goddamit Leo". He complained, some seconds of the brown-eyed boy laughing went by. "So?". He asked to make sure there was nothing really bothering his best friend.

"Nah dude, no hard feelings, I just got invited to sit with Hazel and some of her friends". Leo's thumb pointed somewhere behind him.

"Hazel...". Jason said trying to remember who it was. "Oh, you mean that chick you've been digging since-"

"Yeah, yeah Jason, that one, shut up before the whole school hears about it". The boy with black hair cut him off before anyone could hear them.

"So what's the deal with you two?". Jason asked, curious if his friend made any move. He remembered how Leo always wanted to confess his feelings to the girl, but he never had the courage to go for it, Leo didn't even like touching on the subject.

"For now I'm just trying to know her better, you'll see, in no time she's gonna be drooling for me". He said full of himself.

"You wish". Jason sarcastically replied.

"You just wait blond Peter Pan". The blond boy grunted at the nickname. "Well, I'm off, see ya". Leo walked away, to meet the girl he had a crush on.

"Go get 'er tiger!". The blue-eyed boy hollered, hoping the best for his friend.

 _ **Some few minutes before on another place**_

Percy and Annabeth opened the door that exited the main building, a gust of cool wind passed through them the second they stepped outside, the sign that it would possibly start raining soon. The girl gestured for Percy to follow her, she mantained a relatively quick pace, but not that quick. The raven-haired boy followed her pace he wanted to be over with that too.

"But seriously, I think I can climb it". He said, he was being honest, he had clibed fences, walls, and trees before, and he had easily climbed down from the girl's window the day before. Annabeth didn't like the idea for many reasons, but the one that most convinced her it was not worth it, was the thought of Percy falling. She couldn't bear seeing him get hurt just because she was too lazy on planning something. Yeah, she was realizing that she had a crush, imagine seeing the person you loved hit the cold ground from the second floor of school, Annabeth knew she couldn't. But of course she wouldn't admit that was the main reason, she thought of a way to convince him not to climb.

" _It would take too long for you to get there and I also want to have a look at those papers myself too_ ". She showed him what she'd written.

"Okay, fine". He spoke with a feeling of disappointment, so far he contributed with nothing on their little cruzade, he wanted to show Annabeth that he wasn't useless. They stopped walking, they finally got to their destination. A square closed window was above them, it was relatively far from all the other windows on the second floor that seemed to belong to classrooms. "We're here I guess, now what?". He asked, the blonde slowly walked around the area, observing from different points of view. _The height seems to be around 6-7 meters, maybe more, adding an angle of maybe 75-60 degrees we would need a_. Her thoughts were interrupted when she caught a glimpse of the boy, his dark strand of hair that partially covered his forehead, his green seaweed eyes, his whole figure made Annabeth sigh on the inside, a sigh of longing, a desire to be with him, for him to feel what she feels. She didn't know why after he had escaped her house, she started having these emotions and daydreams about him, but they felt good, they made her forget about the tragedy in New York that got her here to meet him, she felt something she didn't know how to explain, she felt it, she felt it. She decided to call that emotion it, because love would then be a hard blow to her pride, the voice called self-esteem would not leave her alone. It, was simply a mixture that chemistry would have a hard time explaining, a mixture of a sweet happiness, peace and a change on the heart rate. It, was the feeling of sunking on the ocean of her dreams when she looked him in the eyes, the undertow. The girl liked the new emotion that she created, love was what she felt for her now deceased family and her aunt, maybe Jason and Piper could also fit there somewhere, but she only felt it to Percy. She felt like she wanted him to be with her at all times so that feeling could never leave her again. But when she wished Percy could feel the same about her, she remembered what Drew and the others told her. They were, in a logical sense, right, what if he was only being her friend because he pities her and nothing else?. Earlier that morning, before Percy called her to go to school she checked herself on the bathroom mirror, she saw her slightly curly blond hair she got from her mom, she remembered how beautiful her mom's hair was, but, to the girl her own hair was nothing out of the ordinary, so was her face. Nothing in her stood out much, save for maybe her eyes and definetly her scar. She remembered what the Asian girl said. _Soon he'll leave you for someone who is more beautiful and can at least talk to him, like us_. That sentence bothered Annabeth so much.

"What are you staring at?". The boy asked, his tone wasn't rude, just curious to what the girl was doing. Annabeth felt her cheeks burning and was quickly thinking of an excuse, she grabbed her notepad and started writing something that would make sense.

" _Just calculating how tall our ladder is going to be_ ". He read the thing and looked at the window, also trying to calculate the height. Trying was a very accurate word because he had no clue of calculating how tall that was.

"And how tall do you think it is?". He spoke after some seconds of silence, she started writing and some moments later she showed her answer.

" _I'd say that the height of that window is around 6-7 meters, plus the angle, I think a 9 meters ladder should be enough_ ".

"Meters?! What kind of measure is meters?!". He said a little bit confused, his whole life he's been using the normal U.S. measuring system, he heard about the metric system before but never saw someone actually using it. Annabeth wrote on a page of her notepad.

" _The kind that the rest of the world and the scientific community uses?_ ". Annabeth read a lot of science and architecture themes on the internet and most of them, if not all of them, used the metric system, after studying it so much she kind of adopted the meter instead of the foot, but she could convert them no problem. Her parents were very weirded out when she told them she was 1,38 meters tall when she was ten years old.

"Alright smartpants, how long, in feet, our ladder needs to be?". The girl quickly did the math in her head and showed him the notepad.

" _Around 28 ft_ ".

"Why did you learn that thing anyway?". He asked curiously, it was a weird thing to be using after all.

" _I want to be an architect when I grow up_ ".

"Architect, huh? I'll make sure to look for you when building my house". That's not actually what an architect did but sure, she would definetly help if he wanted to build his own house, so she just nodded with a smile in response. She gave another look at the window that was closed and wrote on her notepad again.

" _Also, we need that thing to be open if we want to get in there_ ".

"Yeah you're right". as soon as he finished his sentence the noise of a thunder reached their ears, it wasn't very loud which then indicated that it was far away from there. "It's gonna be raining soon anything else we gotta do?". She quickly wrote some words on her notepad she didn't want to stay outside much longer.

" _Go look for Piper and Jason and tell them what we found out here, I'll be with you soon, just gonna check this thing out, see if we missed anything_ ". She wanted to make sure everything worked, if there was no hidden cameras and stuff like that.

"Alright, just hurry up, don't wanna get you all soaked from the rain". She waved him goodbye, soon he disappeared from the scene leaving her alone to analyze that place.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Notes**

 **I'm so sorry that took so long. I've been very busy, so it's hard for me to keep writing the chapter. Enjoy the chapter.**

 **I do not own the right to Percy Jackson and the Olympians' characters**

 _ **Chapter 11**_

Percy was walking around the cafeteria looking for Jason or Piper or both, but it seemed that they vanished. After some seconds of walking around he spotted a very uncomfortable looking Piper, sitting on a table with some girls with glasses, braces, one of them was wearing a T-shirt with a muscular guy stamped on it. The green-eyed boy knew that this guy was from one of those Twilight movies. _What was his name again? Jerome? Jason? Jonas?_. He tried to recall it, meanwhile, Piper spotted him and was trying to get his attention, once he looked at her, he saw in her eyes begging, 'save me please'. Percy got the message, it didn't look like she was having much fun on that table.

"Hey Piper, do you know where Jason is? We gotta talk about that... umm, thing". He tried to look convincing while not exactly sure what to say, that was all Piper needed to come out speaking.

"YES! The thing, how could I forget that! Sorry guys, but I've gotta go". Best-actress-EVER. All the girls on the table looked at the native girl with some disappointment, they wanted to talk to their idol a little bit more. The conversation Piper had with them was the mixture of completely weird and boring cliché, it would look rude if she said that she'd rather be in the garbage bin she was the day before. "Let's go Perce, we got to find Jason". Percy looked at the girl awkwardly because of the nickname, she quickly stood up.

"What thing are you talking about?". One of the girls said.

"Oh some... stuff! Don't worry, we can talk later". Piper was lying, she now walked to Percy's side.

"Maybe we could help out!". Lacy exclaimed.

"NO! no...". The girl with multi-colored eyes frantically answered, trying to look as friendly as possible and not give them the hint that she didn't want their company, her eyes were definetly green from all that lying.

"Why not?". The girl with braces asked.

"It's complicated". Piper tried to be vague. "But I can tell you, maybe, later on...". She grabbed Percy's arm and started to walk away on a fast pace. "Well bye". She quickly said not giving the chance for those girls to say anything that would make that conversation painfully longer than it already was. Piper walked and walked dragging Percy to any place that was far from there, they stopped at the main hall next to the cafeteria entrance, below the stair that led to the second floor.

"Geez, you can let go of my arm now". Percy said noticing that the native girl was hiding behind it and looking around as if she was being chased by the police.

"Are they still nearby?". She asked.

"No, we are far from them". The boy spoke, Piper gave a sigh of relief in response. "Were they that bad?". Percy asked curious about what could make that conversation so unpleasant, that it made the girl react like that.

"Ugh!". She answered, painfully regretting the moment she decided to go join lacy's 'cool friends'. "Let's just agree to never mention that to anyone". Those people were like a more unpopular and (how should I put it?) more 'passionate' version of Drew's group, they still talked about what was the latest fashion and they talked a lot about Justin Bieber, painfully so, they even talked about Percy being one of their dreamboys. For the sake of confort, she decided to leave that subject out. The boy chuckled at the girl's request, that made him remember the spider on Annabeth's room the day before, it was funny.

"Sure". He said, assuring Piper he would keep the secret.

"Sorry about that... So, did you guys find anything?". She asked curious about their next move.

"According to Annabeth, we'll need a twenty-eight feet ladder". He said recalling what the girl told him.

"Now, where would we find that?". Piper thought out loud.

 _ **Some minutes earlier, not so far from there**_

After Jason ate a sandwich alone, he wanted to hang out with Piper, but the girl was still on the other table, so he decided to go to the second floor and see if there was anything worth analyzing that could help get his friends inside Chiron's office. Once he got there he spotted three boys talking to each other, one of them had brown eyes and dark hair similar to Percy's, he had his arm crossed as if he was angry at the world. Another boy had brown curly hair that hanged around his blue eyes, his mouth shaped into a mischievous grin once he saw Jason approaching. The other was black and had short hair that matched the color of his skin, he was quite muscly for his age and was taller then all the boys around him, it would be easy to assume that he was with Clarisse's bullies, but Jason knew he wasn't. Yeah, the blond boy knew those three all too well. Michael Yew, Charles Beckendorf and the Stoll brothers usually hanged around together. Jason wasn't close to them as he was with Piper or Leo, but they were cool. They were the kind of friends you'd chat with a little bit or tell some jokes, like distant cousins.

"Hey". Jason greeted, as he approached them.

"Sup Jase?". Beckendorf answered, the blond boy noticed that someone was missing from the group. _Travis_. His mind said, remembering the mess the kid got into.

"Hey Connor... I'm, umm, sorry, about your brother". Jason spoke kind of awkwardly, he didn't do anything wrong, but Annabeth did, sorta. She made things worse for one of the school's best pranksters, by calling one of the school's security guards. The girl didn't know that Clarisse had the protection of the school's staff, and since she was walking around with Jason's group, he felt it was his responsability for at least apologizing to his brother. Those words seemed to only make the scowl on the black-haired boy's face grow stronger.

"Dude what are talking about?". The twin playfully said, Connor wasn't too big on violence or keeping hard feelings, only pranking and picking locks. "Travis is fine, he's just butthurt that he got caught by Clarisse and the school, that's all".

"Soooo? No hard feelings?". Jason asked.

"Nah dude". Connor replied.

"Just tell the blondie to be careful around Clarisse and the rest of her friends". Beckendorf added, he knew that those people didn't care who they hurt.

"Yeah, we kind of told her that already... anyway, why was Clarisse so pissed with Travis?".

"It was kind of a bet, he tried to steal her smartphone and some other stuff from her friends". The black boy said scrathing the back of his head.

"Smartphone? Where did she find the money to get a smartphone?". Jason was a little confused, since when did Clarisse start having money? As far as he knew, her mother could just barely pay the morgage. Yeah, Clarisse's mother was her only family, he remembered that her father was a soldier that died on an ambush on the Middle East. Hence, her particular hatred for basically everything.

"Dunno". Connor answered. "It's weird huh?".

"Yeah". Jason would definetly keep that in mind, that was something he needed to tell the others, what if someone else was involved with this?.

"Someone needs to teach her bitchass a lesson". Michael, who had been quiet that whole conversation finally said, Beckendorf just sighed at his comment.

"Are you planning to fight her again Yew?". The muscular boy asked, Michael just grunted in response. Although he had the size and strengh, Charles disliked violence, using it as the very last resort. There was probably no one else on school that hated that bully more than the dark-haired boy. He tried several times to beat her, but he always lost.

"I mean, am I wrong? Someone's gotta stop her".

"Don't worry we're kinda investigating her and stuff". Jason said, trying to calm the boy down.

"Investigating? You mean like you're a Nancy Drew or something?". Travis joked, the other boys chuckled.

"Ha ha, very funny". He replied unamused. Two muscular guys could be seen coming towards the group from the end of the corridor, one of them had a bald head and a rainbow tattoed on his left shoulder, the expression on his face made him look like he was going to kill someone. Behind him was an Asian boy, his face showed some regret, Jason tried to figure out what could it be. Frank Zhang was always an odd one, although he was tall and strong he has always been soft, so it made no sense for him to be walking around with those thugs.

"Looking good today Butch, why don't you give us that smile everyone loves?". Travis teased him. The bald boy took part of the joke, cracking a smile that was as beautiful as Freddy Krueger's face. Travis was the only one who chuckled.

"Hey Frank". Beckendorf spoke with a serious tone, Frank glanced at the boy in response. The look on his face was saying 'what have I got myself into?'.

"What are you two up to?". Michael bluntly asked.

"None of your business Yew". Butch rudely answered.

"And who do you thin-". He was interrupted by the noise of a thunder. It started raining, and quite a bit by the sound of it.

"Frank, let's go". Butch spoke, the Asian boy quickly followed his pace. Beckendorf, Michael and Travis started chatting again but Jason just stood there. He watched as the two boys left the main building, he tried to think of a reason why they would go out in the rain.

 _ **Meanwhile**_

 _You kidding me?!_. Annabeth mentally complained as the raindrops started to soak her. She quickly picked up her notepad and started hurrying towards the entrance of the school. She wanted to get inside before the rain soaked her and freeze her to death. Astoria wasn't the coldest place at that time of the year, but the cool wind mixed with the water could definetly make someone suffer a little bit.

"You sure she's out here?". Annabeth stopped, that voice was familiar.

"It's what Clarisse said". Another voice answered. _It's them!_. The girl recognized that those voices belonged to two of the boys who walked around with Clarisse. What Piper said earlier now started to play louder than a hurricane, 'Clarisse is out for you'. Annabeth was scared at first, were they really after her? She decided that it was best to not stick around and see what they were going to do. She quickly hid around a corner of the building, she would have to stay there until they went away, since there was a chain link gate that didn't let her go further than that. She tried to stay as silent as possible, a difficult thing to do, she was getting soaked from the rain and the wind onlly made things worse, she started shaking due to the cold.

"I don't see anything Butch, isn't it better if we just waited for another day? It's freezing out here". Spoke the Asian boy, Butch let out a sigh.

"You're such a wuss Zhang". They were getting closer to her hiding spot, but there was nowhere else to go, she was trapped between a wall and the bullies. _I just have to stay quiet_. She told herself mentally, suddenly her throat started burning. _Dammit, you just have the body with the most perfect timing, don't you Annabeth?_. The girl cursed. _From here on out I'm never leaving without my painkillers_. Annabeth didn't know what was worse, the cold or the pain on the throat, she would just have to endure both.

"Why is Clarisse so obsessed with that girl anyway?". Frank asked while looking in a bush.

"It was that girl again that asked her, now can you just stop fucking complaining?". The bald boy replied, Frank shyly kept his mouth shut. Butch was getting closer and closer to where Annabeth was, she could hear his footsteps approaching her. The girl was getting goosebumps not just from the cold. She could hear him breathing, he only needed to cock his head around the corner and she would be screwed. And then... the bald boy sighed in defeat.

"You know what? Fuck her, we're leaving". Butch said, Frank nodded his head silently and obediently followed him away from there.

 _Jesus Christ_. The girl thought relieved, her legs were shaking a lot, from the cold or the fear of being found by the bullies or both. They got weaker and she found herself sitting with her back against the wall, she crossed her arms to heat herself a little bit. _Because a girl asked her?_. She played that sentence on her head. Someone had asked Clarisse and her bullies to teach Annabeth a lesson, she then remembered what one of the bullies told the muscly girl when she first met them, ' _Zhang is right, you remember what she said if we beat someone on the first day?_ '. Was someone else involved with those bullies?. _Definetly, I wonder who could it be_. The girl tried to think of anyone else that walked around with Clarisse or was maybe friends with her, but it was no use, she couldn't think of anybody. The mute girl waited a couple moments to make sure the two boys weren't around anymore so she could get out of there and go back into the building.

 _ **Meanwhile inside classroom 8**_

Percy, Jason and Piper were gathered on the corner of the room that had its door closed, they weren't alone some kids already had started showing up there. After the raven-haired boy told Jason about the ladder they would need to break into Chiron's office, he started staring out the window, wondering where Annabeth was now.

"A 28 feet ladder huh? I think there could be one on Leo's shop, I guess I could ask him when I get there". The blue-eyed spoke.

"Yeah, you do that". Piper said agreeing with his plan, she then noticed Percy's apparent absence in their conversation. "Hey Percy, are you okay?".

"It's almost class time, she was supposed to be here already". Percy mumbled, worried about the blond girl who had not shown up yet, he looked towards the other two who were with him. "Hey Jason, have you seen Annabeth around?". He asked.

"No, I thought she was with you". The blond answered.

"She was, but she told me to go ahead explaining our plan to you, while she stayed behind and made sure if there wasn't anything else we missed". Percy paused a little bit, he turned his look to the window again. "And now it's raining, so she shouldn't still be out there right? And then you said bulky girl was after her". He looked at Piper asking for an explanation to why was Clarisse after the girl he wanted to protect. Was he the one to blame, since he provoked that bully when they first met?. _I really hope not_.

"What do you mean?". Piper tried to play dumb and make him confused.

"Yeah, you said that Clarisse was out for her". The green-eyed insisted.

"I think it's better if we just tell him what he wants to know". Jason spoke. "Annabeth saw Clarisse beating a guy called Travis, she tried to snitch her to one of the security guards a couple days ago, Clarisse caught her, the guards went easy on her and you know the rest".

"So that's why we started doing this". Percy said as if he just cracked a puzzle.

"Yeah, kinda". The blond boy replied while giving a look to Piper, his eyes asking ' _right?_ '. The girl looked away, as if she didn't admit that she started this just to bring the two New Yorkers together.

"We have to go then before they find her!". He said worried, now he knew that the threat of her getting heart was real.

"I wouldn't worry too much, I've seen people who did worse and got away with it". The blue-eyed tried to calm him down.

"I don't know, I still think it's best to not take any chances".

"I'm with him". Piper spoke, now she was actually concerned about her friend who hasn't shown up yet.

"Okay, then I'm coming with you". Jason said getting up.

"Let's do-". Percy was interrupted by the sound of the door opening, it was Annabeth.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Notes**

 **Damn, how long has it been? Don't worry guys I'm not dead, just busy from school. Just wished I had more time to do things I like. Well, enjoy the chapter.**

 **I do not own the rights to Percy Jackson and Olympians' characters, those belong to Rick Riordan.**

 _ **Chapter 12**_

Annabeth was shivering from the cold, her teeth were chattering like she was a laughing skeleton, and her knees were shaking so much that she looked like a faster version of a dancing Elvis Presley. Drops of water from the rain that fell from her scarf and her blond curly hair were soaking the floor around her. She felt her throat hurt a lot since she still didn't take her painkillers.

"Are you okay?". Piper asked worried, as she ran to her friend's side. The two boys gathered around her. Annabeth managed to stop her head shivering and meekly nodded, which, given her current state, was an obvious lie.

"What you think you were doing out there?". Percy followed, he was worried sick about her getting beat up by the bullies, and now he was worried sick if she was going to freeze to death. Jason grabbed his jacket and handed to her in order for her to heat up a little bit, she slowly removed her own that was all soaked and weared his. She then grabbed her backpack and looked for the painkillers, while ignoring the other three. She found the little jar containing the white pills inside and swallowed two of them. Percy was weirded out by the whole scene, Piper and Jason both remained silent, unlike the raven-haired boy, they knew what she was doing.

"So?". The native girl asked anxious. Annabeth took her notepad and looked for a page that wasn't soaked. _Now think, think of a lie, and it has to be a good one, it has to be the best you ever told_. A voice inside her head spoke, the girl desperately tried to think of one that could fool the three, she fainted some movements with her so the three would believe she was writing something but in fact she was thinking. The stares that her friends were giving her were making the girl nervous, she involuntarily wrote something to keep the pressure off of her.

" _I had lost my pen_ ".

"WHAT?!". The three replied, Piper and Percy's voice a little louder than Jason's. She mentally facepalmed herself, there was no way out of it, Annabeth was awful at lying, even if she had to write it, her parents educated her too well.

"And you suppose we 're gonna believe that you were under that cold-ass rain just because you've lost your pen?!". Piper said insulted. Annabeth wasn't shivering just because of the cold anymore, but the fear of telling her friends the truth. She started writing on her notepad again.

" _But wait! There's more!_ ". After reading that the three calmed down a little.

"So what else happened?". Percy asked. She motioned them to wait a little bit, the girl had finally thought of something they'd believe. Piper silently grunted at the cliffhanger, she didn't mind that Annabeth was mute, but damn, was the cliffhanger painful.

" _After I found it, it started to rain, I was heading back inside when I found two of Clarisse's bullies_ ". She hoped for the best, after she showed them, the three looked at each other this definetly interested them. Jason nodded telling the blonde to go on with her story.

" _I eavesdropped on them and it seems they were after some guy, and the best part is that they were asked by a girl_ ". _Please buy it, please buy it, please buy it_. She kept repeating it mentally.

"Girl? What girl? Do you mean Clarisse?". Percy asked confused, Annabeth shook her head.

"Wait, so what you're saying is that there's someone else behind all this?". Piper guessed, the grey-eyed girl nodded. _It looks like they believe it, thank God_. She sighed mentally, relieved that they weren't going to ask more questions about what really happened.

"Now that you say that, it all makes sense". Jason mumbled to himself after being relatively quiet on that conversation. The other kids looked at him trying to know what he was talking about. "Someone is paying her to be the bully".

"What?". Percy replied confused at what the blond said.

"Clarisse's from the poor part of town, think about it, where does she find the money to bribe the guards?".

"But couldn't it be just one of her friends?". Piper asked, testing the boy's logic, Annabeth started writing something, even though her hands were shivering from the cold.

"Then why it's only her who's never got into trouble?". He replied. The grey-eyed girl called the group's attention and showed what she had written.

" _I think the girl they mentioned should tie everything together_ ".

"I agree with wise girl". Percy spoke.

"Either way, we'll find out what's happening and who's behind this at the principal's office tomorrow". Jason said ending his train of thought.

"Well!". The native girl exclaimed with a smile on her lips. "What's our plan going to be then?". The moment Piper finished her quetion, Annabeth's eyes lit on fire as if it was her moment to steal the show.

" _Listen up_ ". She showed them the notepad.

They discussed and argued, it was hard to come up with the perfect plan, but amidst absurd ideas and hopeful theories, they figured out what they were going to do. They now only waited for class to finish so they could carry on already what they had planned. After all, the only place they would find the truth was going to be at Goode's Senior and Junior High's principal's office.

 _ **Some time later**_

They were gathered around the school's main hall. Although it was still raining, the weather outside seemed to calm down a bit. The kids were waiting for their rides home, chatting while doing it. Then, out of nowhere Leo arrived and met the newest member of the group, Percy.

"So this is the new guy! So you think you can just come and ruin what we have going on here, don't ya?". Leo playfully said

"Never thought that the amazing Leo Valdez I've been hearing so much about, would get so insecure around me". Percy replied, after hearing this the latino boy cracked a smile and whispered into Jason's ear.

"I think I like this guy". Jason just rolled his eyes.

 _ **Some more time later**_

Percy and Annabeth were chatting inside the black Corolla while Mellie was driving it. The young assistant in an attempt to join their conversation asked the boy.

"So Percy, what does your parents work with?". The blond girl cringed at the question, she felt really bad for Percy having to hear it. She wasn't angry at the woman, how was she supposed to know anyway? But still, Annabeth felt like punching something for that conversation turning out awkward and heavy. She thought of telling that he didn't need to answer, but before she could write anything, Percy spoke.

"My, erm, uncle, works as an English teacher". His voice was a bit loaded with some kind of pain that Annabeth discovered not so long ago, the pain of not having your parents. That aspect on his voice contradicted the smile he was showing, that was probably fake. If the girl could go back in time she would've stopped Mellie from asking that question, hell, if she could go back in time, she would've fixed a lot of things. Starting with trying to save her family by bringing them somewhere else that wasn't their home, she then would find Percy somehow, and get him away from his father and stop his mother from getting hit by a car. So many things she would do if she could go back in time, so many things that we would do if we could go back in time. The girl shrugged the idea, it was impossible to go back, but she would do a list of things she would do, maybe that could be a fun way to spend time alone, or a very depressing way.

"That's my place". Percy said, bringing Annabeth back to the moment.

"You live very close from Annabeth, that's cool". Mellie spoke, the blond girl quickly wrote on her notepad before the boy could get out of the car.

" _Don't forget to ask Paul about getting you in Chiron's office_ ". Their plan of breaking in from the window would only work if it was open, since one of the teachers was Percy's guardian, it would be easier for him to get acess at the end of the class.

"Don't worry, I got it". He responded, Annabeth gave him a smug smile asking him ' _you sure?_ ' with her eyes. "You'll see, bye". And with that he ran for the front door before he could get soaked from the rain.

"He seems like a nice guy". Mellie said to break the silence.

 _ **Meanwhile**_

Jason and Leo were getting dropped off at Leo's family's hardware shop, a wooden plaque that swayed with the wind and the raindrops, showed proudly the name of the shop with red letters, 'The Bent Hammer'.

"I'll pick you up at six, have fun you two". Beryl, Jason's mother, chanted happily from the Mercedes she was driving, the two boys quickly went inside the shop to get out of the rain. "Let's bring you home darling, shall we?". She asked Piper with the same happy tone she used before.

Some Rolling Stones' song was playing in the back of the shop as both entered. Esperanza was too busy humming the song and organizing some things on the shelves to notice the two boys who were there. Leo crouched and whispered to his friend.

"If we stay quiet my mom won't notice us and I won't have to-". He was cut off by a clap that Jason made. It startled both Valdez who weren't expecting that sudden noise.

"Mrs. Valdez! How are you on this fine afternoon?". He said with a loveable smile to the lady. That loveable smile was actually a devilish smirk for Leo, who was now holding himself from speaking some very mean comments that would get him in trouble if heard by his mother.

"Oh Jason!". She said with her accent as she smiled back. "I'm fine, thank you". She then noticed Leo standing there hoping that she wouldn't give him too much work around the shop. "Mijo, go drop your backpacks in your room, then come help me move some crates from the attic". Leo forced a smile while trying to hide his disappointment and the intent to murder his best friend for screwing with him.

"Sure". They started walking and when they were far enough from Esperanza, Leo exclaimed. "Goddamit Jason!". The blond boy only laughed in response.

 _ **Half an hour later**_

Surprisingly, there was not much work to be done that day. After they were finished, Leo and Jason went to the workshop at the back of Leo's place. The workshop consisted basically of a rather cozy basement, the room was also divided into two spaces, one where Leo's father worked and made some extra tools or whatever Esperanza needed on her shop, and one where the boy worked. Leo had this little space to zone out or to just hang around with his friends, mostly Jason. The boy also used this space to fix bikes and skateboards for the other kids who studied at his school and to work on some other stuff he didn't feel like sharing with others. As they approached Leo's space, Jason saw something with an odd shape that was covered with some sheets standing there, it had the size of a dog, a very large dog.

"What is it?". He asked pointing at the thing with some curiosity. As Jason finished his question, the brown-haired boy stood on its side and cracked a smile, happy that he was going to show his newest toy.

"You wouldn't believe what I have found at the roadside yesterday".

"A pot of gold?". Jason guessed.

"Why would I find a pot of gold at the roadside?". The boy replied confused.

"I mean, you said I wouldn't believe what you've found". Jason stopped himself from laughing at his own terrible joke.

"Ugh". Was all Leo could say about his friend's comment.

"But seriously, what did you find?".

"Behold the marvel on two wheels!". The latino boy pulled the sheets showing a very trashed motorized bike, definetly making the whole build-up underwhelming. Both wheels were bent, the tires were basically torn out, the handlebar definetly saw some better days and it was difficult to find a part of it that was not rusty.

"What is this trash?". Jason commented. "I'm surprised you didn't get tetanus carrying this thing over here".

"What are you talking about? Just need to change the wheels, fix the engine, rub some vinegar on it and then nothing is gonna stop Mr. Valdez from getting all the ladies". Jason chuckled at the idea.

"Not with even a million dollars my friend".

"Shut up and help me get the wheels off". The brown-haired boy simply responded while he grabbed some tools from a box. Jason obeyed and helped his friend.

"Speaking of ladies, how it went with that Hazel girl at lunch?".

"How it went? Freaking awesome, that's how it went, she totally digs me!". He answered full of himself.

"Sure". The blond boy just went along.

"I would actually like to ask some tips to Piper too, I mean, she doesn't seem like the tipe to know a lot about this stuff but she is a girl, right?". The confession Piper made about being obsessed with matchmaking crossed trough Jason's mind for a moment. He quickly changed his thoughts so there was no risk of letting Leo know about it. The native girl would definetly have his hide if he spilled that secret to anyone. Some seconds of silence went between the two friends before Jason spoke again.

"So I've got a favor to ask from you".

"Planning to prank someone?". He asked not taking his focus away from his work.

"Nah, I just need a 28 feet ladder". The blond responded.

"Why'd you need that?". Leo replied confused while he placed the broken wheel and some tools on his table, turning his look to Jason.

"It's for a thing me, Piper, Percy and Annabeth are working on". Again Leo was being left out, he didn't mind if they wanted to expand the group, but still, that feeling of jealousy and the fear of being left out were constant. Even though he joked around it, he was very weirded out from the odd stuff that has been going on lately, Jason and the rest of the kids hanging out so often was something definetly strange.

"Dude, don't get me wrong I'm not trying to get in the way but...". Leo paused for a second deciding if he was actually going to ask the question, he couldn't help it, he wanted to know what was going on. "What's the deal between you guys?". Jason sighed, he knew that Leo was gonna ask it at some point. He didn't know if he should tell him, but the boy was his best friend.

"Whatever happens do not tell this to anyone else, you got me?".

"Yes Mr. Capone, I'll make sure the feds won't know a thing". Leo replied with a rather well-made impression of a Italian gangster, Jason laughed a little.

"Well you do remember Clarisse, right?".

"If I remember? Damn gorilla almost killed a guy inside my class for saying he was sorry for the guy who would go to prom with her".

"And that's exactly what I'm talking about, I mean, isn't it weird that she always gets away with these kind of things? It's like she bribes the school or something".

"I think that the guards are actually afraid of her face". Both boys cracked a smile, that theory was as good as any.

"Well, we spied the guards and saw if the rumours of her bribing them were true, it started as kind of a game, but what we saw was legit shady crap".

"What happened?". Leo asked, the mistery definetly making him interested.

"Seems that someone wants her to keep bullying everyone else, and it's someone with a lot of money". Jason paused a little bit to let that information sink inside his friend. "And earlier today Clarisse's thugs tried to give Annabeth a beating". The girl might have fooled the other two but not Jason, he knew when people were lying.

"Wow... I mean... just wow". Leo was pretty astonished, he knew that Clarisse was far from being a nice person, but sending tall guys to hurt a mute orphan girl? That was just evil. Although he didn't know her a lot, he felt concerned for the girl, she was his friend and he wouldn't let people hurt his friends. "But what does a ladder have to do with it?". He returned to the previous point.

"We think we'll find some answers at the principal's office". Jason simply answered.

"You're gonna break into Chiron's office?!". The latino boy energetically exclaimed.

"Don't get too excited we're not supposed to let them know we are going to be in there".

"But I've always wanted to prank Chiron". He spoke hoping his friend would change his mind.

"No". Jason answered. "So? Are you with us?".


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Notes**

 **Insert apology for late chapter here... Enjoy. (But seriously, I'm sorry).**

 **I do not own any of Percy Jackson and the Olympians' characters, they belong to Rick Riordan.**

 _ **Chapter 13**_

Annabeth sneezed for, what she thought, was the hundreth time, the girl was wrapped on a blanket she borrowed from her aunt's room, she rubbed her nose with her blanket while bitterly saying mentally. _Great, I catched a cold_. She thought about sending a text to Mellie asking if the woman could bring some kind of medicine, but the woman was probably working very hard at the office, so she decided not to bother her. Instead, Annabeth thought of making some hot tea, that could work right? She went over the kitchen and opened some cupboards hoping there would be something. It was mostly empty, but the girl found some little teabags (probably stolen by Athena from some other office at Olympus Corp) and started preparing some tea. She never did this by herself, but she saw her own mother making one countless times, the girl remembered the woman telling her that it was 'to calm her nerves' after she corrected tests from the university, apparently they were very bad. She then grabbed a kettle, washed the dust off of that thing, put some water in it and placed on the stove.

She felt proud of her amazing skill at placing the kettle on the stove just like her mom would do. _Just like my mom_. She repeated it inside her mind, remembering that no one was there to congatulate her. She left the water to boil and went upstairs to her room where she then saw the photo of her family on her dresser. She sighed, no voice leaving her body, she felt like she had grown sixty years all of a sudden, it felt as if her family and everything she knew had withered away because of the time, but in fact, it was a dark-haired man that had killed her family without remorse. His image burned on her mind, the blood stained on his clothes and face, giving the most horrific expression she ever saw on someone's face, a crooked happy smile with sad tears. Annabeth then felt a presence behind her, the same presence she felt when she was terrified for her life trying to escape through her old home's kitchen. She then quickly turned her head, looking at the door's direction, but there was no one.

 _And now I'm getting crazy too_. She said mentally, she glanced at her family photo again, she remembered that she didn't even attend to their funeral, not even visited them. For a moment she was so lost because of the guilt, that she didn't notice her eyes getting teary, she rubbed them reminding herself she couldn't do anything to stop what had happened. She looked at the photo one last time. _I swear the first chance I get, I'll visit you guys_. She then headed downstairs to finish making her tea.

 _ **Later that night**_

It was 10:22 PM. Percy was walking around his room going over his story, the boy had a mission, to get inside the principal's office and leave the window open so he and his friends could get inside. The group decided that he was best suited to carry that out, since his guardian was one of the school teachers, he could easily arrange a moment with Percy after class. The raven-haired boy had spent the whole afternoon trying to think of a story that could convince the man, so far, he'd say that he got a good one that might work out. The plan was that he was going to say that he needed to see Chiron and talk to him about some school crap, that he wasn't doing well on classes for example. _Seems pretty good_.

He was now sitting on his bed thinking about what happened earlier at school, about what Annabeth said. He didn't think that she was lying to them, but she wasn't telling the truth either, he was very worried about her. Was she lying to him? Did she even trust him? That bugged Percy a lot, he wanted to tell her that he cared about her, that he cared more than he cared about himself, he didn't know why though, but around her, he felt happy, he felt home, he felt things could work out for him, that last feeling was very important, given that he never got a shot in life, but now that girl made him feel like had a chance. In general, it seemed that his whole life got better after his father went to jail, but he had to admit that being alone on his new 'home' was boring as hell. Another thing that bugged him quite a bit, was that he couldn't figure out exactly why did Paul show up at his apartment back in NY. After all, he never met the guy before, how did he know about him and that his dad went to jail? What was his relationship with his parents? He tried to shrug that off, he wasn't going to ask him these questions, the guy was giving him a roof, it would look rude. He then heard the front door opening and tired footsteps. _Speaking of the devil_.

He got up anstarted making his way downstairs to speak to him. He spotted the tired man sitting on a nice armchair looking at the ceiling, for a moment the boy felt very uncomfortable, that scene reminded him of his father when he was high or tired. He shrugged the memory and focused on his task.

"Welcome back". The dark-haired boy greeted him.

"Oh, hey Percy, how are you doing?". Paul stopped staring at the ceiling and turned his look to Percy.

"Fine". An awkward pause passed between them before the boy knew what to say next, he decided to be straightforward. "Can ask you a favor?".

"Name it".

"So... I'm, um... I think I'm not doing that well on school". He spoke awkwardly.

"But the school year almost hasn't even started yet". The man replied confused.

"I don't know what it is, it's just, I'm not feeling comfortable there". In parts that was true, Percy didn't know how to fit in so well, maybe he had this holdback because his experience school was not one of the nicest ones. He remembered that he picked a fight with almost every single guy at his class, it wasn't his fault if they acted like jerks. Percy wouldn't hesitate when it came to protecting his friend Grover from the bullies back at the South Bronx. This was one of his biggest strenghts and one of his biggest weaknesses. He missed Grover, but he knew the boy would move on. Maybe someday, if he ever returns to New York he would pay him a visit. Anyway, Percy felt glad that he found a couple new friends. Besides Jason, Piper and Annabeth he hasn't really opened up to anyone else. "Look, all I'm asking is that I get some time to speak to the principal after class, can you do that for me, please?".

"I mean, sure Percy". How could he deny it, with everything that boy went through.

"Alright, I guess I'm going to sleep then". The green-eyed boy felt a bit of relief. _It worked_. He turned around and started making his way to his room while celebrating on the inside.

"Um, Percy?". The boy turned his look to the man who was now up and kneeling to him.

"Yeah?". He said a bit weirded out.

"How do I say this?". Paul spoke looking at the floor and then raised his head again, looking at the boy eye to eye. "I'm gonna take care of you for a while now, and I know all this seems pretty scary and weird, but... I'm here for you kid, your parents were big friends of mine and helping you it's the least I can do for them, so whenever you need help, just tell me". Percy had never met him before his dad went to jail, the guy didn't even show up when his mother died, so how come was he such a big friend of his parents? The boy was thinking if he was going to ask how Paul met his parents. Maybe it would look rude, but Percy knew he wouldn't sleep well if he didn't learn the answer.

"How do you know them?". Paul hesitaded for a moment, but Percy deserved to know, and what harm could come out of it?

"It's a very long story, you sure you wanna hear it?".

"Why else would I be asking?". Percy replied, stating the obvious.

"Alright". He gestured for the boy to sit down. "So back at the 90's, South Bronx was a shittier place to live, if that's even possible, gangs were fighting for the best spots to sell drugs, guns or whatever... it made so that you needed friends if you didn't want to be mugged everyday, your dad was one of these friends. He wasn't the brightest, no offense". The boy just shrugged to his apology. "But he could sure throw a punch... hell, could he throw a punch. There was this guy back on our highschool, we used to call him armpit-mouth, apparently he never touched a toothbrush before. So one day, he and some other jackholes came with his armpit breath asking us to hand over the money we were saving up to watch Indenpendence Day and eat some pizza later. Your dad steps up to him and before you know it, armpit-mouth was knocked out cold on the ground". Percy raised his eyebrows, he never expected his dad did something like that when he was around his age.

"What about the other jackholes that were with him?". He asked.

"They started to beat the crap out of your dad who stayed there trying to buy me some time to run away". As he finished his sentence, Percy immediatly remembered the time he got beat up by some boys at his neighborhood while trying to stand up to his friend, Grover.

"You're shitting me". He quicly dismissed.

"I shit you not kid, he got some ribs cracked, a lot of cuts, bruises, but the movie was awesome and we ate like kings that night at Glionio's Pizza, so I'd say it was worth it". He could not believe the story, for almost his whole life, Percy was convinced that his father was a good for nothing. Having someone say things like that was really weird.

"My dad would never do something like that".

"Look Percy, I know things weren't good with your father, and I'm not asking you to forgive him or anything, but I just want you to know that he did some pretty amazing things for the people he cared about". Paul said trying to save some of his friend's reputation.

"Like getting high, fired and going to jail for the rest of his life because he wanted to get high again, yeah right". The boy said with sarcasm.

"You'll know when the time comes". The man silently mumbled.

"What?".

"Nothing, do you want me to continue?". Percy was tired, but since he got that far might as well continue, he nodded his head, telling him to go on. "And it was like this for a long time, me, your dad and some other guys against everything, until this gorgeous girl came along".

"My mom". The boy smiled. He didn't remember much about his mother, but every memory he had with her was sweet, they came from the time his family was still happy. But these memories were so distant that they seemed to be only some wild dreams.

"Exactly". Paul replied also smiling.

"So tell me, did my dad fall in love with my mom on first sight?". He asked.

"Umm, sorta". Paul did though, he fell in love. He always had loved Sally, ho she smiled, how she walked, how she acted, how she was so sweet. He didn't know how something like that came out of the South Bronx, it was so painful for him to know that things didn't happen differently. Paul quickly shrugged the thought away, afraid it could be even heard by the boy. "It's late, you should go back to bed".

"What?! You can't stop now, what happened then?". Percy asked.

"They had you, they married and they lived happily ever after". The boy glared at the man, stating that what he said was far from truth. "Or not". He corrected hiself. "Either way, it's way past your bedtime, go to sleep". Percy was tired and since he and his friends were planning on breaking into the principal's office, it was a good ida to get some sleep.

"Fine, but you're owing me the rest of the story". He said going to his room.

"Sure kiddo, see you in the morning".


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's notes**

 **Holy crap... I don't know what else to say. The chapter is not even that good. Thankfully I finally got some rest from school and now I'll have more time to write. So sorry I kept you waiting for so long, but things have been crazy. I mean, I had 7 different school projects I had to work out (some of them singlehandedly). I wish I could write faster and better, I really do, but it seems that's just not my thing is it? I'll try to do my best writing the other chapters more quickly. Don't worry reader, even though I'm slow I won't give up on my stories. Enough babbling already, to the chapter!**

 **I do not own the rights to Percy Jackson and Olympians' characters, those belong to Rick Riordan.**

 _ **Chapter 14**_

Piper was walking around the main hall, searching for her friends. She spotted Percy talking to a girl that seemed to be Annabeth, she didn't recognize her the first time since the blonde was almost fully covered with a winter jacket, her usual scarf and had her Yankees' cap on.

"Hey guys!". She called out, approaching them. "So winter came earlier for someone, are you okay?". As Annabeth started to write something she sneezed, answering her friends question. _I should've called Mellie_. The girl regretted mentally.

"So it goes down today huh?". Percy asked.

"Yeah, Jason told me he and Leo are bringing the ladder now, I just hope they make it". Piper replied, after a brief moment she spoke again. "Is it okay if I say that I'm nervous?". Annabeth grabbed her notepad and scribbled down something to help her friend, as Percy and Piper waited, he only shrugged in response to her question.

" _We're only going to do this after class, 'till then we just act normal, Percy will do his part and then we break in_ ".

"Yeah, piece of cake". The boy added, fully trusting Annabeth's plan.

"Well, if you guys say so, umm, what now? Wait in the classroom?". The girl responded still uncertain. It's not like Piper never got into trouble, but breaking into the Principal's office, that was definetly going up a level she wasn't before. She honestly didn't expect for their little adventure to scale up, she only started it to bring Percy and Annabeth closer. The blonde answered the native girl by nodding her head.

"Okay". Piper said, trying to calm herself a little by pretending to use her phone.

"I gotta go to the bathroom, see you there". Percy spoke and then walked away from the girls, Annabeth's eyes followed him as if they were entranced by his figure. She felt better from her cold just by looking at him while no one else was looking. Why? Well, it was quite easy. It's because we humans only have room for one illness at a time, the girl's common cold was being replaced by another kind of cold, called love. Although this cold's symptoms varies from person to person, there are some that can be predicted, like the longing to be with our loved one again, to see them smile making us smile back and when it happens it's possible to feel this most vivid and unassuming happiness, as colorful as the spring or a Monet painting, so precious and yet so ordinary, it's possible to feel that everything is possible at their side. However, when this person is distant or simply does not answer to our hopes the way we want, the pain can be excruciating. In fact, the more unanswered these hopes and the more distant they are, the more we fall victims to this illness. Maybe that's why the unanswered romantic heroes died young in the novels and movies. The author thinks it's safe to say that love can be compared to a virus, an illness. It could happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime.

Piper noticed the look on her friend's face as the raven-haired boy walked away, a small smile forming on her lips. _I've gotta find a a way to bring these two together_. She said mentally, the girl looked back at her phone before the blonde saw how she was looking at her. Annabeth realized that she was probably looking like an idiot in love and quickly glanced back making sure no one was watching.

"So, we ready to go?". The girl with multicolored eyes asked, Annabeth smiled and nodded in response.

 _ **Meanwhile**_

Percy was casually walking down the corridor full of students, as he got closer to the boys' restroom a red-haired girl with some freckles that were strategically hidden by her makeup approached him. He didn't notice her untill she tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, are you doing okay?". She asked him in the most lovely way, it seemed as if she genuinely cared about him, maybe she did.

"Umm, yeah?". He responded awkwardly, surprised by someone he didn't know asking that question. Not exacly not know her, the redhaired's face was familiar, he had seen her walking around the school with some group of girls he couldn't remember.

"humph, silly". Percy thought that she was pretty, she had some kind of natural beauty, but it was hard to see it through all that makeup.

"Do you want something with me? cuz' I need to go to the bathroom".

"I'm just here to help you that's all". That was weird statement that Percy didn't hesitate to ask about.

"And how can you help me?".

"For a guy like you, that moves to a new town and a new school, it can be sometimes lonely, don't you think?". The girl said as she got closer to his chest and with her gentle hands unmade a wrinkle on his shirt. Percy looked at her very awkwardly and moved back a little, mainly because he didn't even know her name and because he wasn't used to this sort of interaction, on South Bronx all he expected from other people back then was trouble. He had to admit that it felt nice having nice people around and to not be worried all the time. But also there was this small, almost umperceivable feeling that he was betraying someone.

"Umm, thanks, what was your name again?".

"Oh, it's Rachel, Rachel Elizabeth Dare! But you can call me Rach, you can call me whatever you want". She cheerfully said, just happy that the boy wanted to know her name.

"Umm, you don't need to worry, I've got friends". Her happy expression turned into disappointment once he said that, it was scary in a certain way.

"Tsk, you don't mean that Annabeth girl do you?".

"Why? What's wrong with her?". Percy replied, crossing his arms.

"Percy, don't you see? She's only using you to get more attention, she doesn't really care about you". The girl said, desperate to make him feel the same feelings she felt for him. She was convinced that she would be successful, after all what was her competition? a mute, skinny, blond girl who had nothing special whatsoever?. _I'm prettier, more popular, funnier and I don't have to write everytime I want to talk with someone_. She kept thinking, she would do anything if it meant making him her boyfriend. She learned it from Drew, there was no one else that she looked up to more than the girl with slanted eyes. _There are two kinds of people in this world, darling_. She remembered the girl saying. _The ones we can compare to sheep, and the ones we can compare to wolves. The wolves are the ones that own this world, the wolf does not, neither should, care about the sheep's opinion. They take what they want because they deserve it, while the sheep are weaklings at the mercy of others that keep trying to make others as weak as them with their talk of altruism. So let me ask you a question darling, are you wolf or are you sheep?_. But back to the moment.

"What are you-?". And then it clicked, Percy remembered where the redhaired was from. "Wait I remember you... You were walking around with that Chinese girl". Rachel chuckled.

"It's Japanese, don't you ever let her hear you saying this".

"I don't want an argument or something like that with you, as far as I know, you haven't done anything wrong to me or my friends, but trust me, I can smell when there is some kind of crap going on". He then pointed his finger at her very menacingly to the girl. "But, if you ever hurt them, specially Annabeth...". He stopped his sentence there since he didn't know what to say next, and was surprised that he said what he did that way. _Specially Annabeth_. Echoed on his mind.

"Don't worry I didn't do anything". _Yet_. She mentally said.

"And just... stop going around with those girls, you're better than that, I know it".

"What do you know about them? About me?". She instantly replied, even though she was flattered. Percy frowned in response, he really believed she had something else, something that made her different from those spoiled and mean girls, but it didn't mean he would stop believing it. "Relax, I hate it when you frown, it hides your perfect smile". She said softly punching him on the shoulder. The boy chuckled and she started to walk away, still looking at him with a smile.

"See you around Percy Jackson". She said turning her look away from him.

"You too Rachel Dare". He replied.

 _ **Meanwhile**_

Both girls were inside the classroom Annabeth was rereading some old romance her mother gave her as a gift, she was on the part where one of the main characters was suffering because he wanted to profess his love to a girl but was too afraid to do it, fearing she would reject him. _I feel you bro_. The blonde mentally said as she read through the pages of her book and thinking of a certain dark-haired boy. Other students started to come in and naturally the classroom turned pretty loud pretty fast. Unable to focus, being among all that noise, she closed her book and decided to start a conversation with Piper who was secretly reading something about matchmaking on her phone.

" _So?_ ". The blond girl poked and showed her friend the notepad.

"I told you, they're coming". The native girl replied.

" _Let's talk about something_ ". Piper tried to hide a grin.

"Sooo, boys". Annabeth almost dropped her notepad, immediatly regretting her decision to start a conversation with her friend. She wrote something and showed to the brown-haired girl again.

" _Anything else to talk about?_ ". A smug smile formed on the corner of Piper's lips.

"Nope". As she finished her response, Annabeth heard the group of girls that liked to pick on her talking about something.

"Did you see her face when I talked about that garbage she decided to wear?". One of them said.

"Oh, it was masterful". Drew replied. Annabeth's shoulders shrunk with insecurity once she heard the voice of the Asian girl. _Are they talking about me? No it has to be someone else, did they pick on someone else too?_.

"Hey, Earth to Annabeth, are you even listening to me?". Her friend said snapping her fingers in front of the blonde's face. Annabeth was taken back to the conversation. "So?". Piper asked, the blonde looking a bit confused as to what her friend was trying to say.

"Tomorrow, do you want to go trekking with me in the woods?". Annabeth rembered what her friend said about the park where she lived, it seemed like a good idea since she had nothing to do saturday. Annabeth nodded with a grin.

"Screw this class, who's coming with me?". Drew said, both girls turned their looks over to the Asian girl's group. _Looks like Barbie queen is skipping class today_. The mute girl mentally noted.

 _ **Meanwhile**_

"Dude, hurry up or else we'll get late for class". Leo said as he and Jason were walking down the empty streets of the small town carrying a ladder.

"Get late for class? Since when you gave a danm for showing up on class in time?". Jason asked weirded out by his friends statement.

"Exactly, it's all about the reputation, girls love a guy who shows commitment". Jason sighed at his frend's response. _Of course_. The blond boy thought. "Besides". The latino continued. "The more time I spend out here the less I'll have to talk with Hazel, and we're looking ridiculous carrying this thing around, we'll be lucky if my mom doesn't notice anything".

"Dude no one on Astoria saw us and you'll have the entire year to ask that girl on a date". Jason said. "Now shut up and keep walking".

"Shut up and keep walking". Leo imitated him in a silly voice. "I still don't know how you dragged me into this".

"Mainly because you're dumb". The boy stated, poking at his friends pride.

"Screw you". The other replied, the school was already in sight they were very close to the entrance. It looked like there was no one there thatt could bust them, the few advantages of having the school in a tight budget, but of course if it wasn't on a tight budget they probably wouldn't have to be doing this on the first place. The leaves from the trees danced as the wind flowed past them, they could hear some birds tweeting, starting their morning routine. In general, the place seemed to be like the rest of Astoria, peaceful.

"It's over there". Jason said, hoping that would calm Leo down and make him stop complaining for just some seconds.

"Alright Mr. I'm-going-to-break-into-the-principal's-office, what's the plan? Where do we leave this thing?".

"I'm thinking behind the football field, no one will look there".

"Sure". They grabbed the object again and started to make their way to the football field. Some minutes later they finally found a spot were no one would notice the ladder.

"Phew, alright blondy boy let's get to class already". Leo said wiping some sweat from his brow.

"Yeah". Jason responded, but as they walked around the corner they were surpised by a group of well-dressed girls calling their attention. Drew, their leader, seemed very pleased to have found Jason alone, finally she got the opportunity to talk to him without being interrupted by that annoying brown-haired girl.

"Jase". She called him, Jason did his best not to cringe at his nickname. "What are you doing out here darling?". What now? Did they see what they had brought, was their whole plan compromised? Before Jason could say anything Leo stepped in doing it for him.

"Look girls, I know you all want a piece of hostshot Leo here, but the thing is that I'm saving myself for later right now, so can't you just come later?".

"We'll come when I need my bike repaired, repair boy". The girl with dark almond eyes and caramel hair replied, her friends laughing at the latino boy. But instead of being hurt, Leo decided to play along.

"Only then? What a shame, there's so much more to me". He said in the most seductive tone he could do.

"Like what beaner?". The girl retorted.

"I don't know, wanna find out?". He said as he pressed his lips together for a kiss, but before he could reach her lips she slapped him across his face and quickly tried clean her hand disgusted just by touching the latino boy. Leo had been bullied his entire life by the likes of these girls and many more, he had learned that the best way to deal with it is too be as annoying as them.

"Ugh, gross!". The girl said disgusted.

"Ah, tienes una hermosa manita". He said rubbing the spot where she slapped him. The spot on his cheek slightly stinging, the same could be said about his self-esteem.

"See what I'm talking about Jase? Don't you get embaressed walking around with these losers?". Drew said as she observed the 'peasant's' interacting with her group of 'fair maidens'.

"It could be worse". Jason admitted and slightly referencing to Drew's own group of friends.

"I'm done Drew! I don't wanna be around this weirdo one more second!". The girl with caramel eyes said.

"Me too Calypso". The one with icy-blue eyes agreed.

"You should listen to them Drew, I'm not sure if I can hold my friend's hotness here". Jason joked a little and actually making the other girls even more disgusted.

"You'll come around eventually darling, don't worry". The Asian girl sighed in defeat, another failed attempt seducing the blond boy. But Drew wasn't giving up on him, she was a queen, and queens sooner or later always get what they want, no matter what the cost. "Let's beat it girls". And when they weren't around anymore Jason let out a sigh of relief.

"Finally". He then turned his look to his friend who was a little bit quiet. "You okay there buddy?". He asked concerned.

"Yeah". He answered. Leo could take a lot, he was always the last one to feel down. Most of the times, all it takes to cheer him up again is just a cheap joke.

"Don't worry about them dude, they're not ready, you're just too much for them". Jason conforted the guy.

"You said it not me". He cracked a smile.

 _ **Some hours later**_

The bell rang indicating that the first week of class had ended, the students immediatly grabbed their backpacks and started to make their way out. Some happily chanted with friends as if it was their last day of school and that summer had started all over again, others made plans to meet on their houses and enjoy the weekend.

"Don't forget to bring your homework next week!". The teacher tried to call their attention, some of them groaned in response. The worst thing after a week of class ends is being reminded that you'll have to come back on monday.

Jason, Piper, Annabeth and Percy were chatting about something, one of them eventually chuckling because of puns or other jokes. Their little moment was interrupted by the fat gray-haired man, know as Leneus, or asshat (to the more intimate students).

"Percy Jackson?". He called waiting for the boy to respond. Annabeth locked her eyes on his, as if she was saying 'this is it'.

"Don't forget what you gotta do". Piper whispered.

"Don't worry". He responded as he walked away through the door with the fat old man by his side. The blonde couldn't look away from him but she was forced when another sneeze escaped her.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's notes**

 **...**

 **Sorry?**

 **I do not own any of Percy Jackson and the Olympians' characters, those belong to Rick Riordan.**

 ** _Chapter 15_**

Percy was looking around the room he was in. The light coming from the window that partially lit the place, allowed the boy to see some portraits of people on Chiron's desk. There was a picture of, what apparently, was his younger version accompanied with some other teenagers. They were all smiling as if they had just won a championship of some kind or graduated, it could much be one of those. The boy had no idea who were those people with Chiron, maybe they were his friends or his family, who knows? Meanwhile the brown-haired man was working on some paperwork, and when he'd finish he would talk to the boy. Chiron hated having to make him wait. The paperwork sucked almost all the joy out of his work, how was he supposed to take care of his students if he couldn't even talk to them because of the lack of his time? It felt bad when his motto was 'the students must always come first'. He thanked the heavens for having Leneus around to help him. His long time friend was an excellent documenter and could probably find a job anywhere, but he chose to stay at the school they both studied long ago. Their memories were many, but they are a subject for another chapter.

Percy continued to inspect his office. To the right of the desk was a shelf full of hardcover books on many different topics and below was a cabinet that could be holding some documents, but he didn't dare to open with him there. Next to it was a small sofa, Percy wondered if the brown-haired man, that was focused on his papers, layed there and took a nap during the morning, it would explain how Clarisse and co. were left unchecked. Even though the thought crossed his mind, he wasn't the type to judge people until he actually met them and the boy wasn't there to argue with the man. Then the window on the other side of the room called his attention. _Target aquired_. His mind said. But before he could do anything, the principal had finally finished his work and called the boy.

"So what's worrying you kiddo?". Percy turned around.

"Umm...". He wasn't so sure what to say, he was too scared to screw something up. "It's that...".

"Look Percy, I know why you're here". Percy froze, was he busted? How did Chiron find out about their friends' scheme? What now? How was he going to explain he screwed up somehow and now the whole plan was compromised to his friends, worse yet, how was he going to explain that to Annabeth? The boy gulped trying to force his anxiety down his thoat.

"Y-You do?". He stammered.

"Yes, I know how it's been rough for you to adapt to such a different life so quickly". As soon as he finished his sentence the green-eyed was left confused. "I mean, I can only imagine what it's like for a kid to having to lose his mother at such a young age and his father going to prison after that". Percy wanted to pass out of relief on the couch right at the spot, but he willed himself to only let out a small sigh.

"Look son, you don't have to worry, we are here for you".

"Umm, yeah". He said thinking of something. "It's just that is, I don't know, strange". It wasn't entirely false, Percy still wasn't used to his new life, it's not like he didn't like it, he needed time to adapt. But inside he felt that it was just not real, that there was something sketchy about all this. He felt like he was eating at an extremely expensive restaurant and someone was keeping an eye on his tab, just waiting to show it to him and he would have a heart attack or something, tragically ending his short life.

"Well, if that's all, then-". Chiron started to arrange his things so he could leave.

"No but there's more!". Percy quickly intervened.

"There is?".

"Yeah there's also the thing about...". _Think Percy, think_. "I'm having a little bit of difficulty at class".

"Really? How so?".

"I don't really understand when the teachers are explaining something".

"Well, that's normal, but if it's really bothering you, they would be happy to help you, and you could always ask your friends for help". _Dammit_. The boy cursed mentally, not expecting that Chiron would answer his questions straightfowardly. If he kept trying to stall this conversation out any longer the man could suspect something, so he needed to act fast. Screw this. Percy opened the window not hesitating anymore.

"Why are you doing that for?".

"It's a little hot in here don't you think?".

"Couldn't you just taken off your jacket". Percy looked at himself realizing his stupid mistake.

"Well, no because... because you need style you know?". He thought fast.

"Style?". The man asked with curiosity.

"Yeah". The boy simply replied, Chriron gave a small chuckle before he answered.

"Some day I'll have to sit down with you kids and talk a little, apparently this old geezer needs to catch up, huh?". Even though he was on his late 40s, Chiron found a little embarrassing that he couldn't keep up very well with the new generation, even more so when his job dealt directly with them. Percy also chuckled at his comment, for once he felt a little bit more confortable around the man. Confortable enough so he could maybe share a little bit of his burdens. Should he? Could he trust him?. _What the hell_. The boy mentally said.

"My whole life has been about struggle, survival". He started talking, looking out with a bit of melancholy in his eyes, as if he could see himself in the past back in New York through the window. "Although I hated it at first, having to manage on my own gave me this feeling of... I don't know... worthiness? I'm not sure how to explain it very well, but what I know is what changed".

"And what changed Percy?". Chiron asked leaning forward on his desk looking directly at the boy. The man showed complete interest and concern about his experiences and what he felt. It was just like him to worry about a student like that.

"Before, everything I got felt like I've earned it, but now I feel like I'm not worthy of anything!". He said throwing his arms. "I feel like I'm getting too much from people that I just met". There was silence after the boy finished. Chiron was thinking on what to say next, how he could help the green-eyed.

"Look, I can't really say I understand". He started. "Your life has been very complicated son, I'm sure that you have learned things that a kid your age shouldn't learn... Hell, you've been through things no one of should have, but it doesn't change the fact that you've gone through them, they are a part of you are, and you needed that part to get by, but now you don't need it anymore, you feel like you are unnecessary, am I right?". It was amazing, Chiron spoke as if hadn't listened to Percy's words, but his very soul. He did't expect that the principal, of all people, would be so wise and the one that he could finally open up to about something like that. The boy nodded his head agreeing with his statement.

"It feels like one these 'lives' has been a lie, I'm afraid that I'm starting to owe too much". Percy thought about how Paul, a complete stranger was basically replacing his own father. And that he had awesome friends, specially a certain blond girl he couldn't get out of his head. And that feeling of owing them even more made him too scared to get closer to them.

"Nonsense!". Chiron exclaimed. "You're owing nothing Percy, you can trust the people around you now, don't be afraid, you don't have to, I know what I'm asking can be a bit too much but-".

"No you're right". The boy interrupted him. A sudden feeling of realization made its way into his brain. So great was this feeling that he couldn't help but smile a little. He didn't need to be afraid to move on with his life, he wasn't in New York anymore, he made the choice to leave all that behind, so let it stay behind. He then felt his shoulders get lighter, all because of that thought. It felt like he had stopped carrying hundreds of pounds of worries. Talk about sharing the burden.

"Um, thank you Mr. Brunner". The boy awkwardly said.

"You're welcome". The man responded grabbing his things to go home.

 _ **Meanwhile**_

Annabeth had been standing alone there for quite some time already. Piper went with the boys to get ready for their act while she waited for Percy. The mute girl found definitely weird how her brown-haired friend always seemed to find a way to make her and Percy spend more time together.

She sneezed once again cursing those boys who were looking for her the day before. _Couldn't they've done that in a spring sunny morning?_. She thought while imagining how much better it would be to hide in a bush of flowers instead of a cold, wet and smelly corner. _But no!_. The voice in her head continued. _The universe must always have to find a way to screw Annabeth Chase's life doesn't it?_. She sneezed once again after she finished her train of thought.

The girl then saw from the corner of her eye someone approaching. The dark hair, green eyes. She could not mistake that figure, it was Percy. Everything seemed normal about him except for the big smile that was plastered on his face. She waved to him and then grabbed her notepad out of her pocket to write something, but the moment she placed her pen on the paper, she felt a warmness surrounding her body. Percy's arms had wrapped around her into a hug lifting her into the air by a couple inches. The warmness from the hug made way into her body as if she was melting in that hug. The cold she felt before suddenly went away because of the heat inside her, as if her entire being was blushing. For a thirteen year-old, his arms were quite fierce. She was trying her hardest not to freak out even more than she was right now. A good thing that she couldn't speak, otherwise she would be screaming 'claim me!'.

He then put her back on the ground all the while keeping that grin the girl secretly loved on his face. She almost fell when her feet touched the red brick path, her legs felt weak, she could barely keep them from shaking. Her heart was probably going a thousand beats per second. She had never felt such an overwhelming feeling like that one before. This excitement was even greater than when she got the cap she was wearing or when she got the doll she wanted so much on her ninth birthday, or when she saw her brothers for the first time or when the events of the first chapter happened leading her to this very moment. _God, why am I such a dork?!_. The blonde started writing something, barely managing her nervousness.

" _Why d'you do that?_ ". She showed him and he read it with the smile still on his face.

"Because I felt like it". He simply responded. "Have I ever told you your hair looks pretty?". She grabbed a lock of her she played with it a couple seconds and let go of it . The very same hair she thought was nothing special, the one she inherited from her mother and thought that it paled in comparison. And just when she thought she couldn't blush anymore, her body betrayed her yet again. It was official, the universe hated her and hormones sucked. Percy didn't pay attention how she had responded to his compliment, instead he watched the rest of their group approach with the ladder. Jason and Leo were carrying it while Piper walked without a care in the world.

"So we ready?". The multicolored eyed girl asked.

"Yeah everything's ready". The boy with dark hair answered.

"Good, help us carry this thing here". Jason spoke.

"Sure". They made their way next to the principal's window while carefully looking out for any unwanted presence nearby. After they got there Leo and Jason placed the ladder, the object just tall enough to reach the window.

"Alright I'm going in". Leo happily said, but before he could get onto it Jason placed his on his friend's shoulder holding him back.

"I think it's not that good of an idea to let you go there". He said, they wanted to keep things quiet inside there, maybe it would for the better knowing the boy with brown hair.

"What?! Are you serious?!". He complained. "C'mon man, I've been wanting to get into this room forever, just imagine what kind of freaky stuff he hides there".

"Definetly a bad idea". Piper confirmed plainly.

"I think I know where's the stuff we're looking for, I'm going in". Percy said ignoring their little squabble and getting on the ladder. He climbed carefully but without fear.

"I think you should go too Annie, you're the smartest of us here and actually would know what we might be looking for". The blonde wanted to punch her friend because of the nickname, but Piper added before she could. "We'll keep an eye out, you two take your time there". She then realized that she would be alone again with Percy, the boy that just gave one the best hugs in her life, or that she remembered at least.

"And I've lost my place as the smart one too? I'm telling you that she's going to replace me!". He threw his arms into the air.

"Since when you were the smart one?". Piper argued.

"Why, since-". Before Leo could finish the green-eyed boy cocked his head out of the window above them and spoke in a hushed tone.

"Will you guys keep it quiet down there, you'll call the attention of the entire town with this ruckus".

"Sorry". Piper replied on the same level. Then everybody looked at Annabeth with expectation, they were waiting for her. God was she nervous, she had never done something like that before, neither breaking into private property or climbing that high. She didn't know which was worse, getting caught doing such a naughty thing or falling from the ladder. Probably having to endure more time alone with the raven-haired boy without letting her hormones doing something stupid. She breathed in and took a step getting on the ladder and climbing it.

"Lucky". Leo muttered almost inaudibly so. Jason sighed at the boy's helplessness.

The fear of falling down increased each level she climbed higher. She kept her cool until she felt a breeze pass through her, one that could only be felt if you were some feet above the ground. That breeze sharpened her senses which only made things worse. She felt the rungs her feet were supported on slightly bouncing and rearrenging as she shifted her weight. Annabeth started to feel insecure and nervous but she kept going up, almost reaching the window. _It's easy Annabeth_. She told herself. _Just don't look down right? Isn't that what every movie says?_.

"You coming or what?". Percy popped his head out of the window startling her. Annabeth wanted to curse him for doing that, she seriously missed her voice sometimes.

She had done it, she reached the window and got in. The girl glanced around the room in an attempt to get familiar with her new surroundings.

"Hey". Percy whispered loud enough for her to hear. "I think Chiron keeps his documents over there". He said pointing at a wooden cabinet below a bookshelf. He crouched next to it, Annabeth just behind him waiting for him to open the small door.

"Locked? Are you kidding?". He whispered frustrated at his failure.

"There's got to be a key around, let's search around his desk". She held her notepad in front of him getting a nod in response. Percy was opening the drawers, rummaging for the key. Annabeth stood in front of the desk looking thorougly trough various scattered notes and papers, until she felt something metallic on her fingers underneath a piece of paper. _Gotcha!_. She said mentally, holding the key in fron of her. While she looked at it she noticed a very familiar card laying on top of the desk. She grabbed it only to see her aunt's name and cellphone on it. It was her business card, the blond was curious why Chiron had it, she could only imagine the reasons. Maybe he just needed her contact. _The school needs to know how to comunicate with the students' parents right?_. She thought deciding that it was probably best not to overthink it. The girl tapped her friend on the shoulder showing what she found.

"Oh great, let's just hope this will do, wanna do the honors?". He motioned to the cabinet, Annabeth replied with a shrug. The girl placed the key into the keyhole. It fitted and she twisted it revealing piles and piles of documents arranged in an order none of them knew.

"Jackpot". Percy quietly celebrated. The kids grabbed as much files as they could, placing each of their piles on top of the principal's desk, Percy's pile being slightly bigger than the blonde's.

"Ok, now what?". He asked, the girl wrote on the notepad then showed it to him.

" _We read_ ".

"What? *sigh* boring". He said disappointed. _Figures_. The girl thought, she really didn't expect the boy to be excited about reading someone else's files, no one was that perfect. But the thought that she was reading secrets she wasn't supposed to know was exhilarating. The girl legimately felt she was a CIA agent, well, at least in her own weird way.

Meanwhile

Piper and Leo found a new topic to argue about. Json thought they had been going well, at least it wasn't the same discussion over and over again. _These two_. The boy said mentally, deciding it was best to not get in the way of their bickering, at least they were a low enough so no one could hear them.

"You know I would control myself". The latino boy complained.

"Yeah right". She replied.

"Why did I came for this if can't even mess around just a little bit?".

"Because this is not a game Leo, we're actually trying to uncover something here".

"Oh look at me, I'm Piper and I'm so serious". He said trying to imitate her voice.

"You piece of-". The girl got ready to hit him, but before she could Jason interrupted.

"Someone's coming! Help me out with this thing!". He said to Leo as he grabbed the ladder. Percy noticed that their way out was going away and popped his head out of the window.

"What the hell are you guys doing?". But he got no response, only watching the three kids running away to hide somewhere, the reasons became evident to Percy when he saw a guard approaching their location. _Crap_. He cursed mentally, the girl looked at him trying to ask what happened with her eyes.

"Some guard almost spotted them". She froze as she heard those words. "Don't worry, I'm sure he'll go away soon". Annabeth hoped he was right, otherwise how were they going to get out of there? She went back to reading the files, the sooner they found what they were looking for the b _etter. School grades, payment of employees... donations!_. She found the file. The girl poked her friend on the shoulder and pointed at the the files she was holding.

"You found them?". He asked, the girl nodded in response.

She took her cellphone out of her pocket and started taking photos of the documents. The donations had been made for what mostly looked like small companies or local businesses. Nothing had seemed out of the ordinary until she stumbled into a very interesting one. A donation was made by a company she knew all too well, Titan co. The amount was quite large, reaching the house of tens of thousands. It read: for the short period of exclusive usage of the-.

"Good afternoon Mr Rosewood". They heard in the other room. Percy and Annabeth exchanged scared glances. Oh-Oh. They thought in unison.

'Hide', he mouthed. She frantically looked around a spot they could do that, but her efforts were in vain as she was pulled under the desk by Percy. They both looked at each other scared. The boy not knowing what to do to calm them both down, made a silence gesture with his finger. Annabeth darted him a condescending look. _Oh really?_. Her mind said.

The door opened and both kids' hearts stopped, as if a single cold heartbeat could get them caught. Annabeth sunk even further into her position.

"How typical of you Chiron, always careless". Leneus spoke noticing the window and closing it. He opened the cabinet and took some things out of there. It seemed like he was going away. But much to their dismay, he stopped in his tracks once he noticed something laying on the desk. He slowly walked towards it. Percy and Annabeth could see his short legs standing right in front of them. Small drops of sweat were forming on their foreheads. Suddenly Annabeth felt the urge to sneeze, but luckily Percy stopped her mid-action by placing his hand over her mouth, the girl did the same to herself, just to be sure, while cursing herself. Imagine the irony that the mute girl would be the one to make noise and screw everything up.

Meanwhile, Leneus was eyeing at the documents laying there intensely, mainly, the one Annabeth saw. He apparently was so lost in it, that he didn't notice the kids. He sighed and glanced at the pictures of his friend on the desk. The man closed the file folder, and then walked out of the door.

It was only when they heard the noise of the keys locking it, that they left their hiding spot.

"Holy crap". Percy whispered. "That was close".

Annabeth agreed by nodding her head. The girl then looked at the desk. _Dammit_. She cursed inside her mind, Leneus had taken that one file away. Whatever she had taken a photo of would have to make due. Percy opened the window again and signaled to his friends to place the ladder back there again. In a minute they were out of there.

"So did you guys find something in there?". Jason asked. _You've got no idea_. Annabeth mentally answered.

 _ **Back at the office again**_

"Oh hey Ms Dodds can you open the door again? I forgot to get some other files in there". Leneus said to the woman that was casually doing a crossword.

"Sure". She got up from her cair and opened the door to the office.

"Thanks". Leneus replied as he walked in.

As he closed the cabinet and read the file he was looking for, he couldn't help but notice the open window he was sure that he had closed.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Notes**

 **Oh my God you guys. You have no idea how much guilt I'm feeling for not updating in such a while. I've been studying a lot for this annual exam that is going to happen next weekend (a very important one since depending on how I score it I'll get accepted into a college) and when I do get free time I just procrastinate the hell out of my day. Feels bad. Everytime I sat to write this chapter the words just didn't come. My mind wanders off to new ideas of new stories that I could be writing and I can never focus on the one at hand. There were a few more things that I was going to add to this chapter (mainly some bonding between the characters and a bit of percabeth fluffiness), but because I am taking so long to complete I've decided to release one part of it already. I don't know how I'm going to post the rest of what I'm finishing to write. Maybe I'll put it in a new chapter maybe I'll just update this one when I'm done.**

 **Again, I'm really sorry for not updating as frequently as I should. It's shameful really. Oh well, wish me luck I guess. Enjoy the chapter.**

 **I do not own any of Percy Jackson and the Olympians' characters, those belong to Rick Riordan.**

 _ **Chapter 16**_

Company names, bank names, check dates, schedules, more names. Annabeth was rereading all of them for what she felt was the 496th time already. Most kids tend to spend their Fridays playing videogames, watching movies or going out, but not Annabeth. The girl's eyes wandered through the letters of her aunt's computer screen. She had taken upon herself to crack the puzzle. But as much as she tried she couldn't find a single pattern that connected one of those companies to the bribing.

Her thoughts, eventually, drifted to what happened after they broke into Chiron's office. The five had safely gotten away from the school grounds. Leo complained about carrying the ladder as usual, Percy was trying his best to ignore him, Piper was talking about nothing with Jason, while the blond girl was lost on her thoughts. After walking around, the kids got to a point of the town to discuss what they would do next. The girl thought for a while, organizing her toughts on her head. Well, before everything, she should investigate the documents she took a photo of. Only then they could get a lead pointing them to someone. If she was lucky she could find the culprit, but given that she was Annabeth Chase the most hated by the universe, she higly doubted it would be that easy.

After some minutes of discussion, it was settled. Annabeth would look into what they got and then make a plan. The group split up, each making their way home. Percy and Annabeth chatted along the way. They said their thoughts on all of this. Percy had no one particularly in mind for who could be behind all this. He just wanted to stop that madness and make the school a little bit more bearable for everybody else. Annabeth was the same. Although she had her suspicions, she couldn't exactly point to any direction. But the girl was sure that something would turn and lead them to the answers.

Percy had offered his help as they got closer to her house. Annabeth almost instantly denclined his offer. She wouldn't be able to focus with him around. She would look like an idiot staring constantly at his figure. He looked as if he was disappointed, maybe he was. Percy really didn't know what to expect. The fact, is that he didn't know anyone else around and he wanted to spend the rest of his afternoon with her. Oh well, if she didn't want his presence he wouldn't insist.

Annabeth was brought back to the moment by the watch on the computer screen that read 9:00 PM already. _Holy crap_. She said mentally, just now realizing how much time had passed since she started to solve the mystery behind the donations. She yawned as she stretched her back on the comfy chair. She looked one more time at the screen where the images of the documents were displayed, pen twiddling on her hand. Notes written by herself that helped her try to put some order in that chaos were scattered around the desk.

 _Alright Annabeth, let's try this once again_. She said to herself. _First I gotta connect one of the companies to Clarisse and her friends_. She searched on the internet for the name of the owners of each of the 19. But none of their names was familiar. Not counting the fact that some of them didn't even have a homepage in the first place. Also, these companies did all sorts of things. Some of them were about administrative support, others were about forestry, transportation, a couple restaurants. She was surprised to find a branch of Chanel on the list too.

 _Out of the 19 companies, 12 of them are consistent donators, 14 of them are local, 4 donate a considerable amount_. She said mentally, pondering for a moment. After a few seconds she let out a silent sigh in defeat. _It's no use_. She then thought about the only document she wasn't able to take a photo of, the one with the name Titan Co. in it. _Damn that Leneus!_. She cursed. Annabeth hated him, she knew he was going to be a pain in the butt for her one way or another the first time she met him.

The girl browsed the web, searching anything related to Titan Co. It didn't take long for her to find dozens of webpages talking about the corporation. It was only logical of course. After all, the company was one of the biggest in America and was 'redefining the life quality of America and the world', or so their slogan said. The company sparked memories of Annabeth back in New York. She remembered seeing their outdoors all over Chelsea, Hell's Kitchen and other neighborhoods. A construction site always following next. She was quite young at the time, so she didn't understand how much money the company was making when it was doing a massive undertaking in the city of New York. But if she had to guess it now, she'd probably say a shitton.

So their donation to the highschool on the town that pratically no one in the world knows exist was unusual at the very least. She tried finding something that could connect the company with the school bullies, but she found nothing. They had no offices, no businesses, no nothing in Astoria. The company was from Connecticut and most of their business were around the east cost and California.

But all of that information made their donation even weirder. Everything was just out of place. That said, Annabeth decided that the company had nothing to do with what she was after and so she decided to leave it. The girl looked out the window to the night's dark sky. She leaned back on the chair, relaxing. In her small solitude, the girl wondered what everybody else was doing.


End file.
